Fans Fired Up Over Ohaiyo Offing From Fnatic Dota 2 Team

On Friday January 19, scene-shaking news dropped from Kotaku that popular Malaysian DOTA 2 player, Khoo “Ohaiyo” Chong Xin was dumped from the international esports team Fnatic. The sudden drop happened on January 15, but it’s being reported that the entire team knew of Ohaiyo’s departure at least one full day before he was informed at a celebratory pizza party. 

Khoo served as the offlane to Fnatic for over two and a half years - a spot that will now be taken over by newcomer Saahil “UNiVeRsE” Arora. Ohaiyo had helped the Fnatic Dota 2 team defeat the Philippine DOTA 2 team TnC to qualify for the ESL One Katowice Major, which is what the pizza party was celebrating. 

The Fnatic Chief Gaming Officer, Patrik "cArn" Sättermon, commented underneath the Facebook post announcing Universe as a member of the team, citing all of the positives of Ohaiyo’s run with Fnatic.

“We want to emphasize that this decision was not taken lightly,” Sättermon begins, “and even that the timing of the change may look off given our team’s recent progress, it’s the only real option we have with the approaching roster lock(which only recently was communicated) to secure a player which we think can further accelerate our development, and with that taking us closer to winning our first international tournament. 

“Ohaiyo has been a cornerstone of our DOTA team since we returned to the title in 2015, and we have nothing but respect and appreciation for his loyalty, hard work, and contributions to the squad and Fnatic as a whole. I personally cherish many great memories from working with Ohaiyo and I will never forget the amazing run him and the team had at TI6 where we made it to top 4."

Sättermon went on to explain that the Fnatic is attempting to help Ohaiyo find a place on other professional team, as well expressing a desire to keep professional ties with the player.

“We are now helping Ohaiyo seek other options as a player, but we are equally open to continue working with him in other capacities as few come close to his experience and professional attitude. Due to Ohaiyo’s attendance at the recent Katowice Major he will also be given a share of any prize money winnings from the LAN finals.

“For our squad the grind and aspiration to be the best at what we do continues with full force and you will already tomorrow see us battling out in the Bucharest Major qualifier, where Universe will make his debut as a Black and Orange. I want to use this opportunity to thank all the Fnatic fans for your support and we will do our utmost to make 2018 another memorable year.”

Despite the alleged goodwill from his former employers, Ohaiyo spoke out on his public Facebook page, citing his disappointment and anger towards Fnatic, not at being booted from the team, but how they did it.

The backlash has only grown with many agreeing with Ohaiyo’s remark of how cruel the team was. As of this writing, there are well over 3,000 comments on Ohaiyo’s January 15 Facebook post. Fans are angry for him and it’s showing.

Additionally, the Malaysian esports and influencer community has begun the call to action against how Ohaiyo was treated. Two well known Malaysian influencers, Le Josette and Iceyz, have spoken out already and announced their official drop of the Fnatic brand of gaming gear as sponsors.

Both influencers are Malaysian full-time streamers and influencers, playing games on a near daily basis. They both hold well over 20k followers and are well known among the gaming communities. Both of them left their reasoning vague in the official posts, but the timely response has left many people realizing this is directly connected to Fnatic’s treatment of Ohaiyo. Iceyz is the girlfriend of Ohaiyo. 

“It’s no offense about the brand," Iceyz explained. "I just want to support (Ohaiyo). So, I left Fnatic too.”

Twin Galaxies has reached out to Ohaiyo, Team Fnatic, Le Josette and Sättermon for an official response to the backlash and situation, but none have responded as of publishing.

Being fired is hard enough. Being fired during what should be a celebratory moment of victory might put Fnatic on the defensive for awhile as fans of Ohaiyo and the team question the decision.