SAN FRANCISCO — Richmond, Va., resident Ryan Cortez is one of the top-ranked gamers in the country, taking home third place in 2017 in the annual “EA SPORTS FIFA 18” competition.
In mid-October, the 23-year-old Cortez did something he’d never done before. He raced a gaming tournament car at the 1st MLG Pro League event in Vegas: the Nintendo Miata Z, a retro racing car that looks like a bicycle.
The infamous Hall of Shame on Deadspin.com documented his antics, poking fun at his teammates and high-fiving people within a 100-foot radius of him, like the driver himself. Cortez had moved to Vegas from Richmond to sign up for the tournament and spent his off-days driving the Miata Z to pick up extra prizes.
“As much as it was a last-ditch effort to make more money,” Cortez said, “it felt fun, and it felt like a challenge.”
On Monday, Cortez was one of 12 people who were suspended for three months, according to a senior administrator at Immortals, the esports team Cortez is a part of. The team is owned by the gaming company Riot Games.
Immortals released a statement claiming it didn’t investigate or deal with Cortez’s actions himself, and instead it was the first time Immortals learned about them from media.
“Riot has been in contact with us and has assured us that no money was paid to Mr. Cortez or his driver/mate,” the company wrote in the statement. “The pair of players was promptly suspended, and we are awaiting a return to our events with due diligence.”
Immortals was one of three gaming teams that left Vegas on Monday without payment for all of their prize money, according to team members. A Washington Post reporter who attempted to reach Cortez at his hotel room Monday night was told, “The guy is fine. We’re not talking about the details.”
The owner of another team whose employees were suspended said they were “shocked” and “angry” that Cortez was suspended.
Cortez has stepped up his work outside of the gaming world in the past year. He’s living with his girlfriend in Vegas, “just hanging out with her family and friends and taking some new classes and stuff,” he said.
He’s not sure what he’ll do for a living next year. He’s considering working on podcasts or doing volunteer events, “anything that gets you out in the community,” he said.
Immortals, meanwhile, says it will send its players back to tournaments as long as they pay their prize money. Teammembers claim they’ve been having similar issues, including not being able to get money from their sponsor or finding teammates who were available to drive. Cortez said he worked on this problem as much as he could himself.
“I’ve kind of accepted this situation and gotten over it,” he said. “I’ve decided that I’m kind of detached from it and just continue doing what I’m doing.”
Cortez has been working with Livestrong, which provides mental health support for athletes. He said it has helped him change his perspective on esports, and how he sees himself as an athlete.
“In this industry, a lot of people point fingers and think we are stupid people,” he said. “The thing that’s making this happen to us, is that we aren’t stupid. We are so driven and so hardworking and this isn’t accidental. I know these guys worked really hard to get to this point.”
