Esports Team FaZe Clan Sues Former Member Tfue Over Contract Dispute

FaZe Clan feels "betrayed" the Esports gamer Tfue sued them to get out of his contract but now they have filed a lawsuit of their own, claiming he "has caused them serious damage and stands to do more."

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, FaZe Clan claims when the signed Tfue (real name: Turner Tenney) to his deal in April 2018, they "promptly began the process of training, promoting, endorsing and supporting him in his gaming career."

The company says they taught him how to be a professional and "schooled Tenney in the business, social media and gaming practices that have made FaZe Clan successful."

The lawsuit claims Tfue has earned over $20 million since he signed with FaZe Clan.

In an effort to keep their relationship with Tfue going, the company says they offered him several revised agreements but he rejected every offer they made him.

"It turns out," FaZe Clan claims, "Tenney wanted nothing less than to tear up the agreement he made with FaZe Clan so he could take all he had learned from FaZe Clan, and all that FaZe Clan had helped to build, and keep everything for himself."

In their lawsuit, FaZe Clan claims that by breaking the agreement, Tfue is in violation of a noncompete clause in the deal as well as a requirement "to avoid disparaging FaZe Clan, bringing negative attention to FaZe Clan or making unauthorized public statements about FaZe Clan."

FaZe Clan believes Tfue is moving to create his own Esports group and they believe he is "using FaZe Clan’s trade secrets and confidential information, as described above, to create a competing organization or otherwise compete against FaZe Clan."

They are suing Tfue for breach of contract, misappropriation of trade agreements, intentional interference with contract, and several other claims.

They are seeking unspecified damages plus an order barring Tfue from "from revealing, divulging or otherwise making use of FaZe Clan’s confidential information until three years after the Gamer Agreement’s term ends."

As The Blast first reported, Tfue's lawsuit against FaZe Clan claimed FaZe's gamer agreements violate California's Talent Agency Act, which protects artists from organizations that act as unlicensed talent agencies.

Tfue says FaZe has collected payments on his behalf from companies that were never distributed to him, and he says the team is also costing him work by rejecting business opportunities that may be a conflict of interest for them.

The gamer says FaZe has been able to get away with the "illegal" behavior because "no-one could or was willing to stand up to FaZe Clan," but stresses, "Those days are over."

He explains that he wants to "shift the balance of power to the gamers and content creators/streamers, those who are actually creating value and driving the industry."

Tfue, who has amassed millions of followers on YouTube and Twitch, wants a judge to determine that FaZe Clan is not permitted to act as his talent agent and wants his gamer agreement proven invalid.

He also wants forensic accounting to determine how much money FaZe Clan owes based on his services.