Esports Group Method Is Struggling to Grow Following MethodJosh's Departure

The world of esports is rapidly growing, and being added to one of the top esports leagues awards an influencer a lot of cred in the industry. Leagues like NRG, FaZe Clan, and Team Liquid are snatching up new players for their rosters left and right, continuing to increase these teams' popularity.

But the market for esports teams is competitive, and some teams haven't fared as well as others. Esports group Method has recently been struggling to grow its channels. Thanks to some recent drama, including the banning of one of their previously prolific Twitch streamers, Method has found its numbers steadily decreasing over the last few months.

Since 2019, a couple of women have come forward with allegations against then-healing raid member Josh, who played on Method's World of Warcraft team. The allegations began when Josh's account was indefinitely banned from Twitch in June 2019. While the streamer didn't publicly disclose many of the details as to why his account was banned without warning, many of his followers discovered there were allegations of sexual misconduct against the gamer.

In June 2020, a Twitter account under the name Alex also posted allegations in a TwitLonger, detailing how the streamer solicited inappropriate photos from her when she was a minor.

"I realize now that Josh effectively groomed me and abused my naivety and depression for his own sexual satisfaction," she wrote."... I struggle to see a point of view where encouraging sexual pictures and videos from a 16-year-old girl isn't some form of abuse through lack of experience, knowledge, and self-worth."

Following this, Method’s GM Shanna “Darrie” Roberts announced in a now-deleted tweet that Josh was released from Method's roster following the allegations that had come to light.

“I can’t take back the pain and betrayal that the women who he abused felt when Method did nothing for a year,” she wrote, according to Dot. “My focus now is working with our leadership team to develop policies that are unwavering, and without prejudice towards perceived ‘value’ of a player.”

While the esports team attempted to rectify the problem within their ranks, the channel has still struggled to grow since the allegations. According to the group's Social Blade statistics, Method's YouTube channel has only continued to lose subscribers throughout the past year. In the previous 12 months, the channel has actually lost 24,000 subscribers, and while their videos continue to rake in the views every month, it's clear its subscriber base is struggling. 

This is the same for the esports group's Twitch account. While Method's Twitch account was quickly bringing in followers, since June 2020 the account has lost thousands of followers. In June alone, the account lost more than 3,500 followers, and its numbers have continued to be in the negative since Josh was removed.

It's unclear if the group has any clear plans moving forward to begin growing its fanbase again, though it's obvious Method's fans plan to hold the entire team accountable.