Vladislav "Kvem" Korol stirred up the esports community with his statement about the early termination of his contract with IKLA. The player declared himself a free agent, but IKLA CEO Maksym Bednarskyi insists on the legality of the agreement and is ready for legal proceedings with any organization that signs the player. The details of this conflict are in our article.

Kvem's Statement: "I am ready to continue my career as a free agent"

Vladislav Korol played for ES Kyiv from August to October 2022, after which the organization underwent rebranding. From October 2022 to February 2024, he was a core player, and after this, he was benched. In February 2024, Vladislav officially announced his departure:

I terminated the contract with IKLA due to breach of contract terms. Currently, I am looking for a new project and ready to continue my career as a free agent.

Vladislav "Kvem" Korol

This statement received community support. At the same time, it brought a lot of backlash on IKLA CEO — Maksym Bednarskyi. Kvem stated that the deal was violated by IKLA, which led to his decision. However, the organization's management has a different perspective. At the time of publication, Kvem declined to comment on the situation.

IKLA's Counterstatement: Contract Valid, Player's Violation

IKLA CEO Maksym Bednarskyi immediately refuted Kvem's statement, emphasizing that the contract remains valid and the player's actions could lead to legal consequences.

His ‘representative’ wrote an amateurish-looking letter saying that he was terminating the contract because he believed that we had breached the agreement. We responded to his letter in accordance with the legal procedure, but he decided to ‘declare himself a free agent’, which is actually a violation of clause 8.4 of the current contract, and he will have to pay a hefty fine for this if the case goes to court. I also reminded the player that he had to wear our jersey during the RMP, which he agreed to. But he ignored the message. He did not respond anymore, apparently believing that by ignoring the problem, it would disappear by itself. But I warned him about the actions that would follow.

Maksym Bednarskyi, CEO IKLA

Maksym Bednarskyi also stated that IKLA tried to find a new team for Kvem ready to buy out his contract and even offered a $10,000 bonus, but the player declined. The player was also offered double his salary as the club wanted to sell him or, if returning to the pro scene in 2025, keep him within the IKLA roster. However, Vladislav rejected the offer.

A few weeks before the refusal, Kvem told me that this team was the best option for him! But they didn't want to buy it right away, they wanted to lease it, so we were working on it with them. But when they agreed, he refused. I offered a bonus for the transition: $10,000 is a good bonus that was not specified in his contract. So it was just offered as a sign of goodwill. But he refused, saying that he would wait until the end of the major and make a decision.

By the way, we offered to double his salary so that he would extend his contract with us, because we want to sell him or come back in 2025 and want him in the squad. He refused.

Maksym Bednarskyi, CEO IKLA

Behind the Scenes: Maksym Bednarskyi's Words

About the Contract and Its Terms

The contract is valid until the end of 2025. The buyout depends on a formula that considers salary and the remaining time until the contract ends. We even offered the player to double his salary to continue cooperation, but he declined.

Maksym Bednarskyi, CEO IKLA

About Keeping the Player on the Bench

Maksym Bednarskyi considers Kvem a valuable asset and is not going to let him go so easily. That's why he is still under contract and not released.

A player's contract is an asset. In the case of Kvem, it's a valuable asset. Why should I, as a business, lose a valuable asset? Because fans and the player want it?

He can buy himself out at the designated price, a transfer can occur, or the contract term can end. There's another mechanism if a player decides to quit, but he cannot play official matches for the next year to prevent this mechanism from being used to join another team.

Maksym Bednarskyi, CEO IKLA

About Kvem's Reputation

The IKLA CEO believes that Kvem is negatively influenced by his surroundings and that reputable organizations will not sign him.

I think he is badly influenced by the people around him. He doesn't really understand that he is harming himself more by doing so. Normal organisations would not sign him. There are unspoken agreements between organisations, and everyone knows them. If players start running away from their contracts by simply announcing it on Twitter without consequences, it will harm all organisations without exception! This was probably not explained to Vlad when they said it was a good idea to try to leave the organisation.

I can add that Kvem's representative is a lawyer working with a player agency in Poland. Therefore, I have a clear impression of an attempt to illegally terminate the contract for unlawful gain from another organization or agency.

Maksym Bednarskyi, CEO IKLA

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Situation Continues

This conflict has already become a topic of discussion in the esports community. Vladislav Korol claims that IKLA breached the contract, while the organization insists otherwise, ready to defend their rights in court. We will continue to monitor the development of this situation.