A tragic event to eSports would have still been locked behind closed doors if it weren't for the bravery of the team's jungler Demeter, who revealed what was happening inside of the team's house. When the players initially joined with aspirations of becoming a professional gamer, they were not aware they would be put under antagonizing and inhumane elo boosting grinding sessions.
Alongside having a very limited diet and being forced to sometimes sleep 3 hours or less while also being under the circumstances of physical abuse, some of the team was also under the threats of the staff, as Karner states.
"Monster Gaming contacted me saying that the team lacks a top laner for Champions qualifier. We dropped out of the tournament, but the team told me to join the team house. I had no intention of joining at first, but Head Coach Kim-Jin told me that he is a good friend of the KT Coach and that that if I do not join, then he will make sure that I am never able to be part of the competitive scene. That left me no choice, but to join. That happened at the end of June."
Another member felt threatened by the potential of the staff being part of a gang and was pressured to stay, even beyond his will. The team's staff would constantly persuade them to stay, even though they rarely had the opportunity to hone their skills due to having such rigorous elo boosting tasks.
"There were no contracts written, but we were unable to leave even if we wanted to. The team staff talked about being part of a gang casually. We were scared. When we tried to leave, the head coach convinced us to stay. Because we are young, it seems that we were persuaded again and again."
Sources
Inven 1
Inven 2
Inven 3
TeamLiquid Interview