MAD Lions faces backlash for Konektiv tribute

Following the death of former professional player Karol “Konektiv” Wojciechowski in September 2022, the esports organization MAD Lions decided to offer a tribute to the family members.

This, instead of generating positive comments and solidarity, has generated a lot of criticism from the community.

MAD Lions is strongly criticized

The official MAD Lions statement reads:

“We recently learned of the passing of Karol ‘Konektiv’ Wojciechowski, a member of MAD Lions, in 2017. In his memory and as a way to support the charity collection launched by his parents, we will donate €500 for the health and recovery of sick children. To support the collection, his parents have auctioned his 2017 sweatshirt […] Once a Lion, always a Lion.”

There is no doubt that this statement by MAD Lions, which is still available on Twitter, is expressed with a sincere gesture. But, it was a real embarrassment for the deceased boy, his family, and his fans.

This tribute has been strongly criticized for the amount of money in the donation and the delay. For Konektiv died last September 7, and the organization published her tribute on January 30, 2023.

About Karol “Konektiv” Wojciechowski

Konektiv was a Polish player who started his career with MAD Lions in 2017 in the mid laner position. However, after not getting the desired opportunities, the player took other directions and was signed by Adive in 2018, moving to the top lane, where he played the rest of her career.

Karol continued as a professional player in different teams, including PRIDE and Illuminar Gaming, until 2020. After a two-year absence from the scene, he returned as a coach for the Polish team Internaziomale (currently going by the name Wina Krzycha). After Konektiv’s arrival, the team finished #1 in the national rankings.

Rejection from the community

While these were nice words from MAD Lions, early fans were quick to ask different questions, such as:

“is it possible that such an important org only put up 500 EUR for a tribute to one of their deceased former players? And also five months late?”

Other community members continued to attack MAD Lions, saying:

“4 months later, donate €500 for the small organization that just won the LEC. But no problem you will sell jerseys. Disrespectful”

Remember that this European organization has a very successful team in the European League of Legends competitive scene. So much so that they have attended Worlds in three consecutive seasons and placed fourth in the 2022 LEC Summer Split playoffs.

We want to point out that Overactive Media Group owns MAD Lions, a publicly traded company with several esports teams in various games.

So, giving such a low amount of money ($500) seems like an insult to the deceased player and her relatives

Header: MAD Lions