Martin Shkreli is having a brutal couple of months.

For those living under a rock, Shkreli is arguably the most-hated pharmaceutical executive person in the world. He drew serious criticism for jacking up the price of a life-saving AIDS drug 5400% and is currently facing criminal charges for securities fraud. He can add another legal case to worry about, as he’s is being sued by a Nevada eSports gamer.

Law 360 reports pro gamer Rohit Nathani aka CurryshotGG is suing Shkreli’s Maelstrom Gaming LLC for breach of contract. The suit alleges Shkreli’s company agreed to pay Nathani $30,000 to coach one of his League of Legends teams, but that he only received $5,000.

“It is incredibly unfair, given the growth of the industry, that nonpayment is still such a serious issue,” Nathani’s lawyer, Roger R. Quiles, said Friday. “It’s time that the team owners — and the teams themselves — are held accountable for these unlawful practices.”

Shkreli claimed back when he began investing in eSports that he had “a tremendous opportunity to change the landscape of competitive gaming as we know it.”

“By providing stable and sustainable employment for world-class gamers,” Shkreli wrote at the time, “we hope to set the industry standard for the relationship between team members and the companies they partner with.” 

Shkreli’s eSports ventures didn’t change the landscape of competitive gaming, heck, they barely made a dent, as it has been a mostly failed attempt to jump into the growing world, as his teams haven’t succeeded competitively. Shkreli made a wise investment in jumping into eSports as it’s something he seems genuinely passionate about, but promising to set an industry standard and then allegedly not paying his coach shows he’s a hypocrite and not the pioneer he thought he could be, should the allegations harbour any truth.

[Law 360]

About Liam McGuire

Social +Staff writer for The Comeback & Awful Announcing. Liammcguirejournalism@gmail.com