Bwipo sparks controversy after claiming several LEC pros are ‘paycheck stealers’
Colin Young-Wolff/Riot GamesBwipo’s been a loose canon on stream as of late, calling out several LEC pros and claiming they’re just cashing in paychecks, killing the region with their “mediocre” play.
Although he hasn’t played in the LEC for a while, Bwipo was on one of the best Fnatic rosters of all time before he came to North America, and he’s finally won an LCS championship this year. It’s no exaggeration to say he’s one of the best players in the West in terms of results.
During his livestreamed boot camp for Worlds 2024, he’s called out several European players directly, claiming many of them are “mediocre” and are “stealing paychecks” by staying on their teams.
In particular, he called out solo laners who have played with Hylissang on Vitality over the past few years, like Chasy, Photon, and Vetheo.
“I love Hyli so much, man. I think he’s a fantastic player, he’s a world-class player. His f**king solo laners, honestly… F**k you. How dare you not even try to take the blame when you are so f**king bad at the game. You can lane, sure, but that’s all you can do. You’re lucky to have gotten paid for the years you got paid. You are so sh** at the game. Either of them, replace them with me, and Vitality makes it to playoffs and makes it to worlds, on the spot,” Bwipo said.
He claimed Vitality refused to play around Hylissang’s strengths as a player and was in tears while talking at this point.
“[Vetheo] has been living off other people’s backs and just farming his creeps in peace, doing absolutely nothing, carrying nothing,” the player said.
He went on to say Vetheo comparing himself to Gen.G mid laner Chovy was “pathetic.” Bwipo later said the French mid laner was, like many other European players in his eyes, coasting.
“I’m airing dirty laundry, I don’t care. I’m giving examples because people need to be outed for this behavior, they need to be outed. You can’t even trust your teammate when he’s proven to be a better player than you, every year for four years straight. What the f**k else do you need?” he asked rhetorically.
“Unironically, as a competitor, if someone better than you is playing in the same league as you and makes fun of you and your team several times, and you don’t trust his word? Who the f**k do you think you are? And it makes me so sad [Hylissang] had no one on his team to say that, because I do. I always did. That’s why I have no shame saying it in public, I’m only saying it because it’s necessary.”
Bwipo said he doesn’t think the LEC is the only region doing this, either. He feels as if this sort of attitude has affected NA as well, as the LCS has even worse international results than Europe.
“In the LCS, NA is potentially going through… like, it might die soon because of sh** like this, players like this. I don’t stand for that,” he said.
Vitality isn’t the only team he feels is guilty of letting players coast without improving.
“Everything about Europe is great except the pro players that are absolutely boosted, don’t see it, and pretend like they’re not and have ego. Those people? F**k those people,” he said, claiming they were “paycheck stealing,” the FlyQuest top laner said.
“This is just how I genuinely feel. These people get paid hundreds of thousands of [euros] a year to be f**king mediocre. Suck my fat ding dong.”
It didn’t end here, either. Bwipo also claimed Nemesis is the only mid laner Europe’s ever had that could hold a candle to Caps on Fnatic, claiming that Humanoid is outright worse.
He also called out GIANTX mid laner Jackies to his face, but would later apologize for how he addressed the player. However, he didn’t take back his words, either.