ATK re-signs squad to six month contracts
Dust2us has learned that Gareth "MisteM" Ries, Rhys "Fadey" Armstrong, Ian "motm" Hardy, and Johnathan "b0denmaster" Bodenmalm, alongside coach Daniel "sprayxd" Kogan have all signed new contracts with the ATK organization for approximately six months. The signing comes after a contentious period between the organization and the players as they were not able to secure flights back to Mexico in time for the first IEM Road to Rio NA Open Qualifier.
As we previously reported, sources informed Dust2.us that the ATK players had not had their transportation secured to head to the team's camp in Mexico with only three days to go before the start of the first qualifier. This was due to the contracts between the two sides still being sorted. As ATK CEO Warren "Flea" Barkhuizen informed us at the time;
Well, the rather boring truth is that the team's contracts end at the end of this month so we're at the closing stages of re-signing. Once all the ink is dry then they will leave.
Several players have tweeted in recent days that they were traveling to Mexico, indicating that the contracts were finally settled and the squad would continue playing under the ATK banner. With the players settling back into their team home in Monterrey, they appear ready to be joining the FPL Queues and participating in ESL Challenger League once more.
ATK look forward to playing the upcoming IEM Road to Rio NA Qualifiers and ECL Season with the following squad:
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Gareth "MisteM" Ries
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Rhys "Fadey" Armstrong
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Ian "motm" Hardy
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Johnathan "b0denmaster" Bodenmalm
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Michael "Swisher" Schmid
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Daniel "sprayxd" Kogan (Coach)