VALORANT star pledges paycheck to charity after ‘pathetic’ team performance
After an early exit from the VCL North America during the Play-In relegation stage, Jaccob 'yay' Whiteaker has pledged his last paycheck to charity amidst poor team performance
06th Jun 2023 11:03
Images via Riot Games
VALORANT star pledges paycheck to charity after ‘pathetic’ team performance
After an early exit from the VCL North America during the Play-In relegation stage, Jaccob 'yay' Whiteaker has pledged his last paycheck to charity amidst poor team performance
06th Jun 2023 11:03
Images via Riot Games
Following a disappointing performance in the VALORANT Challengers North America play-in, Jaccob "yay" Whiteaker and his Disguised team faced relegation after losing to MAD Lions. The loss marks a low point in yay's professional career, spurring him to pledge his last paycheck to charity.
What happened with yay?
Disguised - the esports team built around content creator Jeremy "Disguised Toast" Wang - saw its eleven-match losing streak culminate in a crushing defeat against MAD Lions. The team's defeat resulted from a quick 2-0 loss of 13-6 on Bind and 13-10 on Pearl.
Just a year ago, yay was hailed as one of the best players in the world while he was with OpTic Gaming. However, with Riot's shift to franchising and OpTic's subsequent non-selection, yay was forced to find a new team.
Initially joining C9, he was let go after only two events - despite strong individual performances. He later joined DSG as part of a promising grassroots project. Unfortunately, it seems haven't gone as hoped. Addressing the situation, yay stated, "I've never been so depressed I think in my entire life..."
"The mistakes that are happening on this team are things in which I'm 99% sure ranked players could do better...I'm donating my last paycheck to charity since I don't deserve it."
Disguised teammates have similar thoughts
The remaining Disguised teammates also shared their disheartening feelings on social media. Michael "nerve" Yerrow expressed his embarrassment and disappointment since joining the team, hinting at uncertainty for the future. He tweeted, "Welp.. 0-2 @MADLions... absolutely embarrassed and disappointed from my performance since joining my team... not sure what's next..."
Drake "Exalt" Branly shared a similar sentiment, lamenting the team's losses and his personal performance: "Since coming back to this team, we've lost 6 bo3s... I'm genuinely disappointed in myself that I couldn't have done better."
Amgalan "Genghsta" Nemekhbayar's tweet echoed the viewpoints of his teammates when he concluded, "Welp that was certainly one of the seasons of all time. I don't think I've ever felt this way in my career. Really disappointing. A lot to be said and thought about."
What is team DSG?
Disguised is a relatively new player in the esports industry, spearheaded by the renowned content creator. Wang invested a considerable sum into the esports team, aware of the financial risks involved in such a venture.
The future of the organisation’s VALORANT roster is uncertain, especially given their early exit from the VCL North America. It's eliminated all chances of qualifying for the Ascension event to potentially get into the highest tier of professional VALORANT, the VALORANT Champions Tour.
If you have been affected by any of the topics raised in the article, there is help out there.
Samaritans is available for anyone struggling to cope and provide a safe place to talk 24 hours a day.
Phone: 116 123
Email: jo@samaritans.org
About The Author
Sascha Heinisch
Sascha "Yiska" Heinisch is a Senior Esports Journalist at GGRecon. He's been creating content in esports for over 10 years, starting with Warcraft 3.
