ESFI World

Swedish Protoss Johan 'Naniwa' Lucchesi's time with Complexity has officially come to an end today, as his contract has been bought out by Quantic Gaming. Lucchesi will now join the ranks of Steven 'Destiny' Bonnell II and Kim 'SaSe' Hammar, among others, at Quantic Gaming.

Johan 'Naniwa' Lucchesi

	Name	Johan Lucchesi
	Handle	Naniwa
	Age	22
	Country	Sweden
	Team	Quantic Gaming
	Race	Protoss

The last event that NaNiwa represented Complexity was at DreamHack Winter 2011, in which he was defeated by his former teammate coL.MVP DongRaeGu in the first round of the playoff stage. Previously, he made an impressive run at MLG Providence by first winning the Global Invitational, defeating both NesTea and Mvp, and following it up by making it to the grand final of the main event, where he lost out to Leenock.

NaNiwa's history as a professional gamer has been tarnished by his reputation. It's not a new thing, either; his "bad manner" episodes date back to his WarCraft 3 days and have remained throughout his StarCraft 2 career. Since November of last year, the Swede has been signed to five different StarCraft 2 teams, from Power Gaming to Empire to Dignitas to Complexity and now Quantic. His longest stint came with Team Dignitas, under the management of e-sports veteran Michael "ODEE" O'Dell.

ESFI World reached out to O'Dell in an effort to understand the apparent difficulties in trying to deal with Lucchesi - after all, the UK-based Dignitas owner spent eight months directing his star player without much internal conflict between the player and his management rearing its ugly head, in the public eye at least. O'Dell declined to comment, stating that he cannot discuss internal matters. Somewhat similar to today's situation with Complexity though, it was also solely Team Dignitas' decision to not re-sign Luchhesi back in late September. 

NaNiwa at MLG Providence 2011, where he placed second behind Leenock

"It is a team's business to recruit winners and it is very rare that we actively try to get sell a winner to another organization," Complexity COO Jason Bass told ESFI World, "but in this case we felt that there was just no possible way forward other than to sell his contract." He continues, "Quantic happened to be the first organization we contacted to do this and they bought Naniwa's contract.  I also want to be clear this was not a mutual decision.  This was solely compLexity's decision to do this.  We were going to sell the contract to someone and we are happy that Naniwa and Quantic were able to come to terms.  We do wish Naniwa and Quantic the best."

The deal was made quickly - it was signed and sealed in less than a week. The big question for Quantic, though, was if Dignitas or Complexity couldn't deal with NaNiwa's issues, why would Quantic be able to? According to Quantic owner Mark Ferraz, one critical point was that NaNiwa would clearly be a good fit in the team - not just because of the vision that Ferraz has for it and its "entertainment value", but in terms of personnel as well. NaNiwa has openly stated (and did so again today) that he has trouble adjusting to an environment in which there are people he does not know nor cannot properly communicate with. With SaSe, a fellow Swede on the team, it may just be the key that helps keep NaNiwa settled and at relative calm, especially living away from home in Korea.

In regards to Quantic's knowledge of NaNiwa's past, Ferraz gave the following statement to ESFI: "Naniwa is a uniquely talented player, and may appear unfriendly or even angry at times, but under the surface he is also a person, just like you and I. There is far more depth and dimensional intrigue under the surface of what is currently seen by many as a highly interesting and complicated personality. Over the coming months, we will bring the fans and viewers into the mind and makeup of what makes QuanticNaNi such an outstanding player, how he views himself, his fans, his teammates, as well as the ideology behind his unique perspective on both StarCraft and pro gaming as major influencers in driving him to become the best at everything he does."

Internal issues between NaNiwa and his teams' management staff have made dealing with him a major problem, and have been the primary cause of his numerous team changes this past year. When two of e-sports' longest tenured managers (Jason Lake and Michael O'Dell) decide to not continue supporting a global champion like NaNiwa on their team's roster, something's amiss.

A source close to ESFI World, separate from the Quantic, Complexity or Dignitas organizations, was able to further elaborate about the woes behind NaNiwa's history of internal team conflicts. "He is the most disrespectful and unprofessional gamer I've ever had to deal with," the source said. "I truthfully believe he needs to seek professional help." ESFI would like to clarify that this source is a highly credible, high-level member of an organization who has worked directly with NaNiwa in the past.

For Quantic Gaming, the move seems to make just as much sense as it does for Complexity. While Complexity begins their search for another big-name player to fill the void that NaNiwa has left, Quantic has seemingly out of nowhere put together one of the strongest foreign teams in international competition. Headlined by SaSe, Destiny and now NaNiwa, Mark Ferraz, the owner of Quantic Gaming, told ESFI that they are actively scouting for two critical pieces for their team: "[Quantic] is currently scouting for a top level Korean Terran or Foreign Zerg player..."

With Quantic's recent disbandment of the Incredible Miracle partnership just this past weekend, the team is taking the time to "refocus investments and long term objectives", which has undoubtedly left them with enough resources to not only make the NaNiwa acquisition, but to bring on another couple top players to boot.

Mark Ferraz has been open about his vision for his team, stating that they are always thinking about more than just the competitive aspects that any traditional e-sport team would; there's the entertainment value a player offers, how they can connect to their fans and how they can become an engaging and memorable brand.

"It's not entertainment at any and all cost," Ferraz said. "There are boundaries and limits. However, we feel we can do more for [NaNiwa] and his fans and we enjoy that opportunity."

NaNiwa has moved out of the MVP team house and will stay in the GOMtv foreigner house for another day before he moves into the StarTale house. Joining him there immediately will be Quantic Zerg player Shuffle. Later, Destiny will join them for a stint of a few weeks, and SaSe is scheduled to return to Korea in early January.

Complexity will be sending Joshua 'TriMaster' Niven to Korea to train "any week now", Jason Lake  said today on a message board post.

Original statements from the press release:

Jason Lake, Founder and CEO of Complexity Gaming, had this to say about the deal:

"We approached Quantic Gaming and were pleased to find that they were interested in purchasing the contract rights to Naniwa. He is an amazing talent but we have come to discover that he does not share the core values of compLexity and felt it was best for both parties to part ways. We wish him the very best in his gaming career. We will be seeking another top contender to fill his spot in the near future."

NaNiwa said:

I know I might get criticized by fans and haters for switching teams, but what Quantic had to offer was simply better and much more similar to what my visions are for my career. With Quantic I will have the opportunity to live with SaSe and that will for sure help me a lot. He’s not just a good player but a very dear friend of mine and it will be fun and interesting to play in the same team as him.

 

I was not a good fit in Complexity because I was all alone in Korea, and they had no plans to send any more of their players here for a long time. I may come off as a cold person in interviews and with the way I act in general, but I get lonely quite easily. Living with other people who speak English and being around StarTale (who embraced me with open arms when I first came to Korea) is an exciting prospect for me. If my time within Quantic goes as well as I think it will, then you can bet I won’t be moving teams again. Thanks to all my fans! Continue to support me in the future please!

Mark Ferraz, Founder and CEO of Quantic Gaming, released the following statement about his new player:

"We’ve made a commitment to invest in StarCraft 2, in order to deliver the most memorable and engaging experiences for both fans and partners. Acquiring NaNiWa aligns with our revised approach nicely. We expect our ‘Power-Protoss-Duo’ to deliver at the highest and most entertaining level. I warmly welcome Johan to the team.”

Releases: Complexity Gaming and Quantic Gaming