Fragadelphia moves forward
Domestic tournament organizer Fragadelphia have announced that they are no longer exclusively tied to Nerd Street. As a result, the organizer stated that they will be hunting for new partners for the event's 2023 circuit, clarifying that the events culminating in Fragadelphia 18 will be announced in the coming weeks.
The split between Fragadelphia and Nerd Street comes not long after the dissolution of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange that supported prize pools and events for Nerd Street. Shortly after FTX's collapse, Nerd Street CEO John Fazio stated that the loss of the sponsorship would "affect the prize pot size and talent budget for Nerd Street Champs and all affiliated events in 2023", highlighting the value of the support that FTX provided.
Fragadelphia in particular saw significant value from the FTX/Nerd Street agreement, as Fragadelphia's expanded $100,000 circuit in 2022 was fueled by the sponsorship. The loss of FTX and Nerd Street as sponsors will no doubt be reflected in smaller prize pools, fewer LAN events, or other unfortunate ways. Despite the setback, Fragadelphia have announced that they intend to announce the events for the Fragadelphia 18 circuit in the coming weeks.
When reached for comment regarding the separation of Nerd Street and Fragadelphia, John Fazio stated that when Fragadelphia was incorporated into Nerd Street, Fragadelphia co-founder Stephen "sasquatcH" Csikos had an agreement which would allow him to retain ownership rights to Fragadelphia in the event that he left Nerd Street. As such, when sasquatcH departed Nerd Street in late October, the rights to Fragadelphia went alongside him. Fazio did state that, although he is uncertain of sasquatcH's plans, Nerd Street intends to support them as they always have despite the separation.
The lasting consequences of this move will hopefully be determined soon, as any changes in the total prize pool and number of LAN events will likely come alongside Fragadelphia's announcement in the coming weeks.
