G2 Esports CEO's actions may have cost the company a Valorant franchise spot

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G2 Esports CEO Carlos Rodriguez agreed to take eight weeks of unpaid leave on Monday after appearing in a Twitter video celebrating a win with banned influencer Andrew Tate.

This would have resulted in the loss of a franchise slot for G2 in Riot Games' Valorant esports league which was announced today. Riot Games today revealed 30 teams in international Valorant leagues, and G2 was not one of them.

Counter Strike reporter neL reported on Twitter that the reason G2 was kicked out was because of the Rodriguez and Tate controversy.

Rodriguez agreed to take the unpaid leave after posting a video of himself to Twitter on Saturday celebrating with Tate, an influencer who was banned last month from TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram after complaints about terms of service violations such as hate speech and misogyny.

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G2 had just won the League of Legends European Championship Spring Season 2022 and were runners-up this summer.

“No one will ever be able to control my friendships. I draw my line here. I party with whoever the fuck I want,” Rodriguez said after complaints related to the Tate video. On Sunday, G2 Esports tweeted: “ Last night we let you down. Our CEO's actions spoke a language in stark contrast to the value and culture that G2 lives and pursues. And for that, we apologize."

And Rodriguez said on Sunday, "Many G2 fans were disappointed this weekend, which led to confusion about what I stand for. My constant goal has always been to stand for absolute equality of opportunity, no matter who you are or where you're from, that's what gambling is."

G2 recently announced its first all-female League of Legends team. G2 was worth $340 million according to a Forbes report in May. This could be due to a new assessment on this front. G2 and Riot did not respond to requests for comment.

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