Effective today, Clarity Gaming is no more as the organization shuts door after less than two years of existence. The disbandment leaves 17 players from StarCraft 2 and Hearthstone in search for a new home.
Clarity Gaming was initially founded in September 2012 when the initial StarCraft 2 squad was launched, featuring mostly North American players. With time, the team added more players to the roster, even featuring established Korean progamers such as jookTo and Shuttle in 2012 and Dragon in 2013.
On March 3rd, 2013, Clarity opened their StarCraft 2 academy - an open call to players willing to train and participate in qualifying tournaments. On September the same year, a restructuring of the team merged the Academy and Pro rosters into a singular line-up of 14 players only to see the return of the academy on March 2nd, 2014.
The start of 2014 was a period of expansion for Clarity not only in terms of growing their StarCraft 2 squad but also venturing into new disciplines. On February 12th, the Hearthstone division of the team was opened, featuring renowned names like ThatsAdmirable, Kitkatz, Zoombuh and Puffin with Chakki also joining at the end of March.
While the StarCraft 2 roster couldn't quite seize the RTS glory, the Hearthstone division reaped successes, appearing in the sixth season of Fight Night and having some of the most recognized faces in all of the game.
Regardless of that, however, these players now remain teamless after Clarity CEO Brandon Altman announced today that the organization is shutting doors. Altman gives no particular reasons in his official statement, only saying that Clarity disbanding is "not a statement on the current state of any game or scene".
Today is a bittersweet day, the proverbial turning of the page. For two years now, through adversity and success the men and women of Clarity Gaming have forged a brotherhood by which all of us are bound. As an organization, Clarity wasn’t immune to mistakes or failures but the family that was created as a result of our struggle will live on through the years in the hearts and memories of all those who served. It is this comraderie and spirit of friendship that made this team such a special and unique place, a place you could truly call home.
It is our sincere hope that the community understand that Clarity’s closing is not a statement on the current state of any game or scene, we truly believe both Starcraft 2 and Hearthstone have bright future’s ahead of them. I have tremendous faith in the resiliency and potential of the North American eSports community and eagerly look forward to seeing more records broken and more dreams coming to fruition.”
