Natus Vincere had some issues with one of their players right after the conclusion the Leipzig Major.
zayac stolen by Virtus.pro
Na’Vi’s CEO Yevhen Zolotarov shared some details regarding the problematic transfer of Bakyt "Zayac" Emilzhanov. You can check the full video on Youtube, also linked below.
The team performed rather well in the Major event, but eventually got eliminated. Right after zayac called Zolotarov and mentioned that he wants to leave the team in order to play for Virtus.pro alongside Alexey “Solo” Berezin and Vladimir “Noone” Minenko. Emilizhanov actually wanted to leave Natus Vincere right after The International 2019, but got convinced to stay by the team by raising his salary, making him captain, hiring a psychologist and removing media responsibilities. The captain’s decision came as a shock to everyone around him as the team had qualifiers coming up soon. The CEO responded that the decision should be made between the two organizations but sadly zayac simply rushed out and left.
Thanks to a loophole in the contract he was considered a free agent and if Na’Vi had any issues it’d be taken to court. Zolotarov explained that the fault in the contract was their own screw-up and that they decided to simply accept the situation without firing anyone or imposing sanctions. The only thing that’s planned is a potential transfer fee from VP if there’s a mutual agreement.
Na’Vi had a somewhat similar situation a couple of years back but things were quite different then. It was the case of Vladimir "RodjER" Nikogosyan moving to Virtus.pro who in total contrast to zayac made his intention clear from the start. Furthermore, everything was discussed by the CEO’s of the two organizations and the transfer didn’t cause any unexpected issues for neither.
Vitalii “v1lat” Volochai shared a tweet about some of the costs organizations had to pay one another in the past.
Ao some transfers in Dota2 @rodjerdota to @virtuspro - 150k USD minus Lil' transfer fee, so approx 100k USD@ramzes to EG from VP - less than 100k USD Other players - 20-30k max. @w_zayac costed 20k to transfer from The Pango to Navi
— Vitalii Volochai (@v1lat) February 2, 2020
In the upcoming qualifiers, Na’Vi will use Semion "CemaTheSlayer” Krivulya as a substitute. Zolotanov concludes the video with a rather optimistic take for the future, that if Valve are not willing to step up, then the CEO’s of various CIS teams will have to gather up and agree on a certain set of rules that will benefit both players and organizations.
Valve silent on the matter
There has been no official response on the matter from either Virtus.pro, zayac or Valve. The latter seems to be the most important one. We don’t really hear a lot about problematic transfers until they see the light of day and Na’Vi’s CEO is right to have concerns about the industry. Lacking any regulation regarding player transfers, it’s all up to the players and not that much to the organizations in the current times.
There has been no official response on the matter from either Virtus.pro, zayac or Valve. The latter seems to be the most important one. We don’t really hear a lot about problematic transfers until they see the light of day and Na’Vi’s CEO is right to have concerns about the industry. Lacking any regulation regarding player transfers, it’s all up to the players and not that much to the organizations in the current times.
