MAD Lions slammed over tribute, 500 euro donation for LoL pro who died 4 months ago
The org was criticised for their late acknowledgement of their former player's passing
European esports organisation MAD Lions are in hot water for their tribute to former League of Legends (LoL) player Karol ‘Konektiv’ Wojciechowski, who died last September.
On Monday (30 January), the organisation announced that they had “recently learned” of the passing of Konektiv, who was part of the team in 2017.
They also said they will be donating 500 euros toward Konektiv’s parents’ goal to raise money “toward the health and recovery of sick children”.
The post also announced the auction Konektiv’s parents are holding for his 2017 jersey.
— MAD Lions English (@MADLions_EN) January 30, 2023
Many fans from the community criticised MAD Lions for acknowledging their former team member’s death too late and for donating an allegedly small amount for his parent's cause.
Twitter user @GodKillThem_All responded to the tweet, questioning the organisation, mentioning that they "recently found out" about Konektiv’s death, when KOI support player Adrian "Trymbi" Trybus allegedly mentioned it in the League of Legends European Championship (LEC) 2022 Summer Finals.
Konektiv had died on 7 September 2022.
Twitter user Raksakoreko pointed out in a response to the MAD Lions tweet that it was “4 months later” and that the 500 euro donation was “disrespectful,” considering the organisation “just won the LEC”.
4 months later, donate €500 for the small organization that just won the LEC.
But no problem you will sell jerseys.
Disrespectful— Raksakoreko (@Raksakoreko) January 30, 2023
Others, like Twitter user @GeorgeS45777371, said, “Is this some joke? 4 months late and 500 euros; you must be kidding, right?”
However, some, like Twitter user @Leviwasnothere, said it was “better late than never, I guess”.
Still others, like @Marcel14314386, thanked the organisation for acknowledging the player’s death and the small donation.
The European organisation have had quite a successful run in the last three years, qualifying for the LoL World Championship three times and finishing fourth in the Summer Playoffs in 2022.
Originally from Poland, Konektiv began his professional career in 2017 as a mid laner with MAD Lions (then named MAD Lions B.C.).
He only played for a couple of months with the starting roster and remained a substitute until he transferred to Adive and Pompa Team in 2018, where he was Top laner.
Before 2020, Konektiv had played professionally with PRIDE and Illuminar Gaming, among others.
He was also known to be the top 1 EUNE (Europe and Nordic East) player until he returned to the pro scene in 2022, when he joined the team Internaziomale (now known as Wina Krzycha) to coach.
Under Konektiv's tutelage, the Polish team placed first in the regular season of the Ultraliga second division.
According to Polish sports daily Przeglad Sportowy, Konektiv was 25 years old when he died last year of unknown causes.
Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.
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