Athletico Esports officially close their doors after 15 years

Athletico Esports, one of Australasia’s longest standings esports organisations, has today announced that they will be closing their doors effective immediately after fifteen years in the local industry. 

Richard “Mangy” Lee, Owner/Operator of the organization, has today released a statement stating “a lot of you may have noticed a heavy lack of activity from Athletico and myself recently. A lot of that has been due to some personal issues starting at the end of last year and due to COVID-19 - they have extended and piled on dramatically.” 

“At the beginning of lockdown I had planned to close the Athletico doors until some more normalcy was restored in my life. I decided that I’d like to keep my commitment to the PUBG team and continue to pay for their entries and cover their games until they found a new home or wanted to part ways,”

“Today the team has decided to part ways with Athletico and I get to end on a high note watching them qualify to PCS: APAC. Naturally with that, it’s also time to formally close the doors to Athletico for the foreseeable future,” continued Richard.

Athletico as an organisation has seen many iterations of teams filter through the brand over the years, most notably, the organisation found their feet in Counter-Strike. However as of recent PUBG has been where the team stood out from the rest of the region with success on both the domestic and international stage. 

Athletico also saw a strong surge in success a few years back when Rainbow Six started to kick off in the region. 

Outside of competition, the organisation has had many staffers who have gone on to make careers for themselves in the industry off the back of their time with Athletico.

Richard reflected on Athletico’s history and his involvement with the brand by saying “I'm simultaneously extremely proud of what the team has achieved with the org over the years and disappointed with the heights I didn't manage to reach. I've seen a lot of great players from the beginning of their career, develop into some of the greats nationally and internationally.”

“I've spoken to some of the most supportive families and been able to see the difference in attitude/encouragement towards esports careers over time that has come with that. I've also had some of the hardest working staff come through our doors to support and develop the direction of Athletico,” said Richard.

“I've traveled the world to watch teams smile and cry in both success and failure. I'm a big fan of everyone who was part of the journey and helped shape Athletico. I'll continue to cheer on the careers of ex-staff and players alike,”

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Closing out his statement, Richard went on to thank those he has worked with over the years.

It is never a pretty sight to see an organization close their doors in what has become such a tightknit community despite it's growth. As for what is next for Richard, we are unsure but wish both him and everyone behind the Athletico brand nothing but the best in their future endeavours.

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Credits:

• Written by Ben Scott