OWL: Titans fired Fissure 'for cause'

The Overwatch League responded to Chan-hyung "Fissure" Baek's statement that the Vancouver Titans refused to pay his contract by "forcibly" removing him from the squad, stating that the Titans fired the South Korean main tank player "for cause." Fissure, 21, said on Friday that when the Titans parted ways with their full roster in May, they pushed players into signing a "mutual agreement" release and then paid them a sum of money that was not commensurate to the full contract. Fissure elected against signing the agreement and maintained he was forced out of his contract without compensation.

The Overwatch League responded to Chan-Hyung "Fissure" Baek's statement that the Vancouver Titans refused to pay his contract by "forcibly" removing him from the squad, stating that the Titans fired the South Korean main tank player "for the cause." Fissure, 21, said on Friday that when the Titans parted ways with their full roster in May, they pushed players into signing a "mutual agreement" release and then paid them a sum of money that was not commensurate to the full contract.

Fissure elected against signing the agreement and maintained he was forced out of his contract without compensation. He said there is "no protection against something like this" in a video clip released on social media, per Peppermint Tea. The Overwatch League issued a statement to The Esports Observer on Monday that read, "The league has been engaged with the Titans on their roster changes, as it does with all teams, to ensure personnel decisions are handled according to league rules. All but one player agreed to a mutual severance with the team, allowing those players to become free agents and sign with a new team of their choosing immediately. The Vancouver Titans terminated the employment contract of Fissure for the cause. The league office will not comment further on any pending dispute between Fissure and the Titans regarding his termination."

Fissure joined the Titans in November after initially retiring from the OWL five months earlier. Before stepping away in June 2019, Fissure was a member of the Seoul Dynasty but was not competing regularly. He stated that he had lost his motivation and love of the game. Having started the 2018 inaugural season of the Overwatch League with the London Spitfire, Fissure was traded to the Los Angeles Gladiators in February 2018.

He was dealt with the Dynasty after that season in August 2018, having professed a desire to move to an all-Korean team, with Seoul as his top choice. Before joining the Overwatch League, Fissure competed for Team KongDoo Panthera and Cloud9 KongDoo.