XotiC opens up about not attending MDL Global Challenge
Days after it was announced Zack "XotiC" Elshani would not attend the MDL Global Challenge, the player has released a statement over Twitlonger, explaining his situation and his side of the story.
In the Twitlonger, XotiC claimed that when he was initially approached by the team months earlier, he initially did not want to play as to focus on school and pursue other opportunities, as playing competitively previously did not gain him any money and he has been "supporting [his] family and [himself] for a very long time".
cantwinalan's then-coach Kenny "kenny-1os-" Dang finally persuaded him to join, but only because XotiC wanted to "help them play their matches" and "give [his] friend a chance to pursue his dream in Counter-Strike." Soon after, XotiC did not want to play again, but claims nobody on the team — including their coach Michael "MAiNLiNE" Jaber — took his pleas seriously.
XotiC ended the statement stating that he could not handle the "severe stress and anxiety [he was] going through to support [his] family while also attending this lan," and thanked his teammates for the opportunity.
XotiC followed up his Twitlonger with another tweet, where he explained further that he was leaving CS:GO entirely to focus on attending a university and getting an internship to support his family.
While XotiC hoped that his explanation would help clear up the situation, it seems to have raised more questions than it answered, with many of his former teammates heavily criticizing his statement. Connor "CONNOR93" Glover posted over Twitter that XotiC initially was enthusiastic about going to the LAN, before abruptly backing out the next day. These claims were also backed by Jack "xCeeD" Holiman, who posted a screenshot of Steam messages from XotiC.
MAiNLiNE commented further that the team vetted XotiC before bringing him onto the team, wary of him previously dodging EPL relegation with ex-Splyce at the last Global Challenge. According to the coach, XotiC had a valid ID and the team were fully expecting him to attend the event.
Other aspects of the statement were criticized, with CONNOR93 also rebuked one of XotiC's claims of supporting his family, stating the player woke up at 5PM every day in a reply to another user. Nonetheless, MAiNLiNE and kenny-1os- tweeted that the team will return to focusing on doing their best at the event, even with two stand-in's.
While the player's actions have yet to net him a penalty on ESEA, FACEIT has already moved to punish the player, with Milos "Mikey" Nedeljkovic announcing over Twitter that the player has been demoted from FPL due to XotiC choosing to "dodge" the MDL Global Challenge. However, as XotiC is leaving the competitive scene, this penalty from FACEIT is unlikely to affect him.
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