eUnited Spartan Benches Himself Amid Team Turmoil

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eUnited Spartan Benches Himself Amid Team Turmoil


Eight-year professional Halo player Tyler “Spartan” Ganza has officially benched himself due to unplayable team conditions at eUnited.


Ganza — who competes for partnered HCS team eUnited — cited turmoil amongst his teammates and the organization’s unwillingness to release him as the primary reasons. For the time being, Ganza will withdraw from competitive Halo. He’ll instead watch from the sidelines until further notice. 

Spartan Airs Issues in a Twitlonger

The Halo veteran signed with eUnited in August ahead of Halo Infinite’s highly-anticipated release. He joined a talented crew that included Nick “KingNick” Panzella, Timothy “Rayne” Tinkler and Ryan “RyaNoob” Geddes—a team that could easily contend for tournament wins. However, turmoil befell eUnited two weeks before HCS Anaheim 2022. 

In a Twitlonger post, Ganza explained that teammate RyaNoob was campaigning to replace KingNick with free agent player Matthew “FormaL” Piper. 

“Fast forward to two weeks before Anaheim, just days before the roster lock. I get a random text from Nick at 3 AM asking why we’re trying to drop him. I’m like… what are you talking about? Come to find out Ryan is trying to have him dropped for Formal. eU management is going along with it as well.”

This decision shook Ganza. He later added that eUnited supported the addition of FormaL, which deeply affected Ganza. He rationalized the team’s performance thus far on the heels of a second-place result at HCS Raleigh. Despite their admirable effort, eUnited felt FormaL could elevate the roster. 

“I lost full. I couldn’t believe such a big change was being done without my knowledge and without my permission. I was baffled. I basically told everyone involved that they were all unbelievable. We just finished 2nd at a major tournament and we were making strides and two weeks before an event you try to have a player replaced without my knowledge or permission?”

Turmoil Amongst the Team & Denied Buy-Out

Ganza continued his Twitlonger, stating that the team’s morale hit an all-time low. Their communication dwindled and chemistry spiraled downward. Still, the team managed a third and fourth-place finish amid the so-called turmoil. The eight-year veteran wanted out, but eUnited would not allow it to happen. 

“I will not be forced to play on their accord. I play and I compete on my own accord, nobody else’s. I will not be forced to continue playing with a team in a downward spiral.”

Although Ganza received offers from other teams, eUnited would not entertain a buy-out. Furthermore, the organization plans on holding Ganza to the terms of his deal until it expires. As a result, he decided to bench himself under these “unplayable circumstances.”

The Future for Spartan

Ganza bid farewell to his former teammates to close out the statement. He offered advice to RyaNoob, who he believes caused the turmoil before HCS Anaheim:

“You need to learn to stop shooting yourself in the foot and sabotaging teams. You have done this on countless teams you have been on and it’s worked out the same every single time. I truly hope you have learned.”

The player’s contract will expire after the Halo World Championship in October. Until then, Ganza plans to sit on the sidelines. It’s an unfortunate conclusion for a top competitor with an illustrious career. We’ll have to see what the future holds between now and October. The organization has yet to comment on Ganza’s self-benching. 





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