u/SDMStaff

[Official Statement] Regarding Rumors of a Creator Contract with Former Player 'Flashback'

Hello, this is KIWOOM DRX.

Regarding the recent rumors circulating on online communities and external personal broadcasts about a potential creator contract with our former player 'Flashback (Cho Min-hyeok),' we aim to transparently share the progress and the team's stance with our fans.

1. Background and Timeline of Meetings Related to Former Flashback Player
2. To allow our current season's roster to focus solely on matches and practice, the team has been considering recruiting a team creator (streamer) to reduce media burdens such as external content filming and promotional activities. The specific details of the meetings conducted during this process are as follows.

April 24 (First Meeting)
In response to the circulating rumors at the time about Flashback's 'return to the Tier 2 league,' we held a meeting as his former team to clearly inform him that, under current league regulations, participation in the Tier 2 league under another team is impossible. In this meeting, we clearly emphasized that 'a sincere apology and request for forgiveness from the current roster must come first.' Additionally, we confirmed Flashback's concerns about his career path after retirement and his intentions regarding streaming. Discussions followed on his desire to contribute to the roster and team in some other way regarding the burdens he had caused, leading to the scheduling of a follow-up meeting.

May 14 (Second Meeting)
Based on Flashback's confirmed interest in streaming activities and potential contributions to relationship recovery after the first meeting, we held further discussions on the possibility of collaboration in the form of a team creator. This meeting reviewed aspects such as the potential scope of activities if collaboration were to occur, content participation methods, and whether it could contribute to alleviating the roster's external activity burdens.

※ These meetings were at the initial discussion stage to explore possibilities, and no contract drafting or official internal approval processes had been initiated. During this process, some misunderstandings and confusion arose as content under internal review was conveyed externally.

May 15
Prior to a final decision, the team fully agreed that the opinions and psychological stability of our active players currently competing in the league are the utmost priority. Determining that the emotional stability of the players currently upholding the team is more important than the intent to reduce content burdens, we held a meeting with the roster on that day, ultimately deciding not to proceed with the creator contract process, and shared this with the roster.

2. Clarification on Mentions in External Broadcasts
   The recent mention of a 'contract in progress' on an external personal broadcast stemmed from the review stage prior to the team's final decision (confirmed non-proceeding on May 15). It has been identified that some confusion occurred during communications with those around at a time when the team's internal final adjustments were not yet complete, and we confirmed that the streamer in question mentioned it without accurately knowing the final confirmation status.

3. The Team's Stance
   The top priority of KIWOOM DRX is always our players giving their all on stage and the fans supporting them.
   This review was intended to alleviate the external activity burdens on the roster, but the team will continue to prioritize roster protection and performance enhancement in all decision-making going forward. We will spare no effort to ensure our players can find stability and focus solely on competitions, and in future communications, we will demonstrate even more cautious and mature team operations to avoid misunderstandings.

Thank you.

KIWOOM DRX

By BBL and TESFED respectively, two separate entities. Mert has also disabled all social media accounts. Nothing further has been made public.