London Spitfire announced that they have released British flex support player Owen “Prov1de” Warner on Saturday after an internal investigation into they player sending explicit messages to a 16-year old. This release came soon after Twitter user emmaismental (Emma) shared Discord screenshots between her and Prov1de back in 2019.
“Me: Immature 16 year old in special needs school provide: 20 year old living on his own, grown adult,” Emma tweeted alongside the screenshots, which depict conversations that contain both romantic and sexual content and Prov1de acknowledging the age difference between them.
After these messages were revealed and fans asked what the organization’s response to this would be, the official London Spitfire Twitter account confirmed that Prov1de is no longer part of the team. This leaves an open roster spot for the Spitfire for the soon-starting 2022 season.
— London Spitfire (@Spitfire) April 9, 2022
“We were recently made aware of a code of conduct violation involving one of our contracted players, Owen “Prov1de” Warner,” the London Spitfire said in their statement on Twitter. “We have mutually parted ways with Prov1de, effective immediately, following the results of an internal investigation. We are actively seeking out a replacement support player to complete our roster and we will share an update on this process with our fans as soon as we can. Thank you for your patience as we looked into the matter and for holding us accountable.”
Prov1de’s previous and recent controversy
For fans who don’t know, Prov1ide has a bit of a controversial past in his time in competitive Overwatch. This isn’t even the first time he joined an Overwatch League roster, only to be removed before playing a match. Back before the 2020 season began, Prov1de joined the Los Angeles Valiant roster. However, before the season started, images of him using racial slurs were made public, which led to his departure from the Valiant roster and a self-imposed retirement.
After just over half a year of retirement, Prov1de returned to the competitive scene in Contenders, most notably finishing second in multiple tournaments for DarkMode NA. With the London Spitfire rebuilding again for the 2022 season, Prov1de joined the roster in November of 2021. Even with his controversial past, fans and players alike agreed to give him a second chance.
so happy for u bro gl this season know ur gonna do well
— ultraviolet (@ultraviolet_ow) November 5, 2021
Now, with only a month before matches are set to start in the Overwatch League, more controversy has come to light. The messages Emma posted, both originally and later in another thread, clearly demonstrate Prov1de’s romantic and sexual advances towards the minor, who was 16 to Prov1de’s 20 at the time. In UK law the age of consent is 16, so there likely won’t be any legal action against Prov1de, so it appears the main consequence will be his removal from the Spitfire.
The Spitfire’s future missing a support
With Prov1de off the team, the London Spitfire are down a key roster member. The only support player they have left is Oliver “Admiral” Vahar. Their final signing, as of now, was in Dec. of 2021. Considering the team had time to work and practice together up until now, someone leaving so close to the start of the season is unlucky. As the Spitfire mentioned in their tweet, they’re avidly looking for a replacement for the 2022 season.
That player won’t be able to play as much Overwatch 2 as other players already have, with some getting early access to the alpha. Either way, another player will be able to get a shot in the Overwatch League in 2022.
Published: Apr 9, 2022 05:55 pm