Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player Kristian 'k0nfig' Wienecke, a Danish national, has left esports organization Astralis by mutual consent after an unpleasant incident in Malta. He had been playing in the ESL Pro League, but on September 20 Astralis announced that he would miss future matches due to a "complex ankle fracture."

Rumors soon began to circulate in the CS: GO community that things had gotten even worse, with esports site Jaxon reporting, based on witnesses to the incident, that Wieneke was "involved in an altercation that turned into a fist fight."

Wienecke initially denied the report, but a few days later an eyewitness, Michiel de Jong, gave a full account of the incident. According to this account, as reported by Jackson, the promoter spat in Wienecke's face, kicked him, and returned to the nightclub when the bouncer became involved. Shortly thereafter, the promoter reappeared and Wienecke went after him, and according to de Jong, "the two fought with fists and kicks and fell to the ground when k0nfig yelled that he had broken his leg.

Wienecke has now issued a lengthy statement (thanks to The Loadout) that roughly matches this account, but goes into more detail. He begins by calling the last few weeks "the hardest time of my life," stating that he was "scared, broken, and completely lost." While thanking people for their support, Wienecke explains that after a disappointing loss, he went out to drown his sorrows before leaving Malta the next day.

As the night wore on, they ended up at a nightclub in Paceville. Wienecke went to get something to eat while his teammates went in, and when he returned about 30 minutes later, he walked up the stairs to the club's entrance

To make a long story short, the man in charge at the entrance objected to Wienecke, called him a "tattooed loser," and told him he had to pay €500 for a table He said he would not let him in unless he paid 500 euros for a table. He was aggressive and I felt humiliated, so we argued."

"I told him I was a loser for standing in line at a nightclub and feeling better than everyone else, and suddenly he spat directly in my face and kicked me in the face. He was standing a few steps above me on the stairs, so it was like kicking a soccer ball. It made me fall down the stairs and sprain my leg. It hurt so bad, but I didn't realize it at first because the adrenaline, fear, and confusion completely took over my body. I just remember being confused. And after I ran into the club with the bouncer in front of me. My mouth was swollen and my feet and legs hurt like hell."

As Wienecke sat on the sidewalk, collecting his thoughts, it appeared that the same person had left the nightclub in a hurry.

"I was so angry and felt I was being treated unfairly that I followed him and caught up with him further down the street to confront him," Wienecke wrote. 'I regret this terribly. I should have walked away. If I had, none of this would have happened. When I caught up to him, I told him I would call the police, but he immediately spat at me again and cursed at me. We fought and he broke my leg and I fell to the ground. He kicked me repeatedly in the head as I was lying down."

"I tried to get away from him, but I couldn't because my leg was broken. I tried to run away, but I couldn't put any weight on my right leg. His leg was also dislocated and completely broken. I pulled him down so he stopped kicking me and I had to use self-defense to get him to stop kicking me."

By this time, other parties had separated the two and someone called an ambulance (Wienecke also claims that at one point the promoter stole his cell phone).

"I was so scared I was going to die," Wienecke wrote. 0]

Wienecke spent several days in a Maltese hospital, where doctors were unable to properly repair the fracture and surgery was required. At this point, however, the medical team noticed a "fracture of the orbital wall (one of the four bones surrounding the eyeball)," requiring a stay in Malta for up to four weeks.

"I was heartbroken. I was so scared that I started sweating and crying," Wienecke wrote. 'All I wanted in the whole world was to just go home and have the surgery. If I could go home, I would feel much better, feel safe, and feel like I was close to people who loved me."

However, due to the nature of the orbital wall fracture, Danish doctors opined that Wieneke would be safe to travel, so she flew home on Thursday, September 22, and went straight from the airport to the hospital. 'I tried to immobilize my leg, but I couldn't do it,' he said. 'I've never experienced pain like this before. [They drilled holes in his tibia and foot, inserted titanium rods, reattached the torn leg muscle, and screwed a metal plate into his tibia. The surgery was a success, but "I felt so bad I was ready to turn it all off and give up," Wienek writes. I couldn't stop crying." I felt empty in my own bed."

Wieneke said that all this time he wondered if this was the end of his career. I am now at war with myself. I'm not going anywhere. He said he intends to "make this downfall a positive thing" and "become the God-level counterstrike player I know I can be."

As for the promoter, local authorities in Malta are investigating and Wienecke is being treated as a victim. He says he tested negative for drugs at the hospital, but authorities claim that the promoter told them he tested positive for drugs.

Wienecke concludes by writing:

"Actions have consequences and I fully accept my responsibility. I am now and always will be. Here is a lesson I have learned the hard way. Turn the other cheek if you can. Walk away. Violence solves nothing. Violence solves nothing.

Well, if the above explanation doesn't convince you that random fighting is a bad idea, nothing will; Wienecke's account shows that there are two bad guys in this story. The promoter, who is allegedly drug-addicted and violent, and the esports organization, which is quick to wash its hands of this athlete; while Wienecke is not without fault (he had been drinking that night and started the confrontation again after being attacked), he is definitely the victim, both physically and professionally. He has suffered a major setback.

"Christian "k0nfig" Wienecke is going through a difficult time with issues he does not want to discuss publicly. We have had ongoing and constructive discussions with Christiane, who needs time to focus on her personal life."

Goodbye and thank you for all the memories. The topic of how these large esports organizations deal with the many young hopefuls coming through their systems is an eternal one.

But when one of their players is subjected to such a vicious assault, it seems callous, even cruel, for Astralis to make the situation worse by cutting them off so quickly (no matter how they both "agreed" to cancel). Wienecke is suffering so much here that one almost forgets that he is only 25 years old. It is at times like this that one needs friends and support, and now he has it.