Misfits’ general manager Ali “Alicus” Saba has left the esports organisation.
Misfits have grown tremendously over the past year or so, and a lot of that comes down to Alicus’ hard work and determination.
The organisation originally qualified for the League of Legends EU LCS (with Alicus as team manager) after first progressing from the ESL UK Premiership last year, when they played under previous owners Renegades.
Now Alicus has left to take a break, citing burnout from running all of Misfits’ gaming operations.
“For a while now, I’ve been feeling burnt out. This isn’t the stage in my life where I want to settle down for a routine life just yet. I’m young, I want to live a little.”
Alicus
Alicus said in a Twitlonger post it was a very difficult decision to make.
today, i sent in my resignation letter
Read: https://t.co/rlAYu2Upu7
— Alicus (@AlicusOfficial) February 16, 2017
“For a while now, I’ve been feeling burnt out,” he said. “Setting up Misfits to grow into a top multi-game franchise was no easy task, and running all gaming operations across the board was taking a toll on me.
“This isn’t the stage in my life where I want to settle down for a routine life just yet. I’m young, I want to live a little. Coming off the back of seven years of full time work, I’ve earned my right to a vacation and a more relaxing work environment.
“For that reason, I am resigning from Misfits and will be pursuing a nice f*cking holiday, followed by an opportunity outside esports.”
Alicus said he didn’t know if this was the end of his esports career or not, but said his trip to Korea with the LoL and Overwatch teams made him notice everything he’d been missing in the world, and awoke a sense of adventure within him.
Burnout is a problem within esports. Respected British host Paul “ReDeYe” Chaloner recently opened up to Esports News UK about the issue.
‘eSports almost killed me’ – Paul “ReDeYe” Chaloner talks burnout and the importance of downtime
Meanwhile, sub ADC player Matt “Deádly” Smith has announced he will be leaving Misfits’ gaming house in Berlin. He will be flying home back to the UK next Monday to focus on his studies, after ‘some really bad news with a family member’.
Deádly’s move is also sudden. He said he’s had some unfortunate news back home and will continue his studies, before deciding if he wants to pursue a career in League of Legends or not.
zz hate feeling like this… I will be leaving Berlin and be returning home on Monday…
— Deadly (@Deadlyl0l) February 16, 2017
Where this leaves Misfits is not yet known – a replacement for Alicus hasn’t yet been announced.
Alicus has been the glue that’s been behind Misfits. Without him, who knows which direction Misfits will go.
One thing’s for sure – finding a proper replacement is going to be a big challenge for the organisation.
Further reading: Check out our recent interviews with Alicus and Deádly here.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
