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Fortnite: Lazarus Esports Loses Entire Competitive Roster

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Fortnite: Lazarus Esports Loses Entire Competitive Roster

Another prominent esports organization saw a mass exodus of Fortnite players this week.

Lazarus Esports lost its entire Fortnite roster today according to multiple tweets from former roster members. Duo Fortnite World Cup runner-ups Jaden “Wolfiez” Ashman and Dave “Rojo” Wong were amongst the players who announced their departure from the Canada-based organization. The other two players on the list are Nate “Kreo” Kou and Jordan “Crimz” Herzog, formerly of the North American roster. All four players are now free agents after spending under a year with Lazarus Gaming.

Kreo Leaves Lazarus Gaming

https://twitter.com/kreofn/status/1233898150127120384?s=21

Kreo was the first player to part ways with Lazarus Esports, and it happened four days ago. It was somewhat surprising to see considering how well Kreo performed in Chapter 2 Season 1. He took first on day two of the Winter Royale alongside Bucke and reached the Grand Finals in the challenging DreamHack Anaheim Open event. Although he finished in 41st place, Kreo still is one of the best in the NA East region. Unfortunately, he is not on the lookout for another organization to recognize him and bring him aboard.

Wolfiez and Rojo Bid Adieu

The World Cup Duo runner-ups of Rojo and Wolfiez also announced their departure from Lazarus Esports earlier today on Twitter. Although they are no longer a duo, these two eclipsed the $1M USD career earnings mark that all Fortnite players could only wish to reach. They did so in the biggest Fortnite tournament to date in terms of the prize pool.

Wolfiez, in particular, has continued excelling in competitive Fortnite since the World Cup. He’s claimed a spot atop the unspoken rankings as one of the best controller players in the world. Wolfiez won two Solo Cash Cups in Season 2 Chapter 1, placed high in many others and took second in the FNCS. Most recently, Wolfiez reached the finals of the DreamHack Anaheim event and took 22nd place. Rojo, on the other hand, remained relatively quiet in the last few months of competitive Fortnite.

Crimz Leaves Last

The final shoe to drop was Crimz after joining Lazarus Esports back in July of 2019. He made the Duo Fortnite World Cup Finals with partner Spadess and finished in 17th place. Crimz also reached both the Season X and Chapter 2 Season 1 FNCS finals with his respective teammates. Crimz joins his three former teammates on the long list of free agents that continue to emerge in competitive Fortnite.

Organizational Dismay Within Fortnite

Lazarus Esports’ official Twitter account nor founder and CEO Charlie Wilson have addressed these roster changes. It’s possible that this is a case where contracts are expiring and Lazarus does not feel the need to renew. We’ve seen this before in the recent months with organizations like Ghost Gaming, who recently released all but a few players without acknowledgment. FNATIC is another recognizable esports brand that left competitive Fortnite recently due to a lack of support from Epic Games.

At this point in Fortnite’s history, Epic Games has not announced any online or offline events, and not a single person other than the developers know what’s on the horizon. Although teams like 100 Thieves and NRG continue to sign high-profile players like MrSavage and Unknown, other organizations can not justify carrying a Fortnite roster without a reason to do so. Fortnite is still pulling insane numbers for online tournaments, so the interest is still there. It’s up to the developers to decide what’s next, until then, we may see even more organizations drop out and other sponsored players to seek opportunities elsewhere.

Photo Credit: Lazarus Esports

Avatar of Matt Pryor
Matt Pryor
Matt is a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University. He appreciates all esports titles but primarily focuses on Fortnite and Call of Duty. Matt continuously analyzes gameplay and plays the games himself to better understand in-game decisions by the best players in the world.