The Apex Series group has today cut ties with Clash Tournaments with immediate effect, ending a long association between the two that had become strained in the last few days, clearly to the point of no return. Citing ‘a breach in confidentiality solely with regards to the event’, the Apex Series twitter account announced the split before Clash Tournaments (CT) owner Mark ‘Chibo’ Korsak confirmed it via his own twitter account.

Apex have since released the following statement via Twitter: "Team Apex would like to reiterate, Sexual Harassment in any form will NOT be tolerated. Measures were taken to remove people who created and unsafe environment which included Clash. Clash's removal had nothing to do with the victims of sexual harassment. Rather, his overall unprofessional actions during his time with Team Apex is why we chose to no longer affiliate with Clash Tournaments."

Korsak has been a key figure in the recent downfall of Jonathan ‘Alex Strife’ Lugo, the organiser of Apex, who was removed from the board for Apex 2015 following the bevy of sexual harassment allegations made against him in the past couple of days. While the official line is that his breaking of a confidentiality agreement, presumably when leaking the news that Lugo was trying to expunge popular Brawl mod Project M from all his associated streams, there is still speculation that this may also be due to the damage done to the Apex brand, in part by Korsak’s revelations.

This theory was backed further when Korsak asked on twitter which breach he had made, and claimed he had not been notified. Earlier today he released the following statement on Smashboards: “"Our issues were only with Alex Strife and not the rest of Apex staff. After the drama yesterday they had continued to work through this and continue on with the event, which anyone would agree is commendable and only further proof that Apex is not just Alex Strife but the collective work of the rest of Apex staff, and the entire community at that. I had attempted to continue on with work in the same way, until I was told to leave."

Who will replace CT the second streamers behind Video Game Boot Camp (VGBC) has not been confirmed as yet, although it is rumoured Smash Studios are in the running. However the event plays out, this is something of a blow for Korsak, as he is losing a massive chunk of Twitch viewership by parting ways with the firm, although his standing in the community has not been hurt so far by his actions. There is also potential for this move damage Apex 2015 itself if the replacement streamers cannot match the quality fans have come to expect from the likes of CT and VGBC, making it a big risk at a time when they're already under fire.

The Apex Series group has today cut ties with Clash Tournaments with immediate effect, ending a long association between the two that had become strained in the last few days, clearly to the point of no return. Citing ‘a breach in confidentiality solely with regards to the event’, the Apex Series twitter account announced the split before Clash Tournaments (CT) owner Mark ‘Chibo’ Korsak confirmed it via his own twitter account.

Korsak has been a key figure in the recent downfall of Jonathan ‘Alex Strife’ Lugo, the organiser of Apex, who was removed from the board for Apex 2015 following the bevy of sexual harassment allegations made against him in the past couple of days. While the official line is that his breaking of a confidentiality agreement, presumably when leaking the news that Lugo was trying to expunge popular Brawl mod Project M from all his associated streams, there is still speculation that this may also be due to the damage done to the Apex brand, in part by Korsak’s revelations.

This theory was backed further when Korsak asked on twitter which breach he had made, and claimed he had not been notified. Earlier today he released the following statement on Smashboards: “"Our issues were only with Alex Strife and not the rest of Apex staff. After the drama yesterday they had continued to work through this and continue on with the event, which anyone would agree is commendable and only further proof that Apex is not just Alex Strife but the collective work of the rest of Apex staff, and the entire community at that. I had attempted to continue on with work in the same way, until I was told to leave."

Who will replace CT the second streamers behind Video Game Boot Camp (VGBC) has not been confirmed as yet, although it is rumoured Smash Studios are in the running. However the event plays out this is something of a blow for Korsak as he is losing a massive chunk of Twitch viewership by parting ways with the firm, and it could potentially also damage Apex if the replacement streamers cannot match the quality fans have come to expect from the likes of CT and VGBC.