The news broke late last night when both Palmer and Hannah seperately contacted GotFrag to announce their decision to leave the team, stating a lack of interest in CoD4 and educational commitments as the main factors respectively. Of the pair, Palmer appeared particularly disillusioned with Call of Duty 4, claiming "the initial buzz of CoD4 has worn off". He also indicated he would be reforming Eximius alongside Jones and a number of other former teammates.

4Kings manager Gavin Weeks admitted the news came as a shock to him, telling GotFrag "we understand that the lineup did possess a large number of characters which inevitably conflicted. The conclusion is that we will be addressing the issues head on to decide the way forward". No indication was given as to whether the remaining players would stay in 4Kings.

Sam "corp" Peoples, now the team's longest-serving member, was equally disappointed. "I was surprised to hear it from Lee yes, but not from Phill" he said, "it was clear to me that he didn't really care what happened to the team anymore". Peoples went on to say that the team would be looking into their options in the coming days but refused to speculate on whether the 4Kings management would allow them to continue.

With less than a month passed since 4Kings' last major switch, it remains to be seen whether Peoples will have the motivation to again rebuild the side. In the interim, 4Kings have missed out on the chance to pursue a number of top teams, including the new fnatic CoD4 squad, and it would be no surprise if their patience had reached its limit.

4Kings are now left in dire straits, with only the following three players remaining on their roster.

Sam "corp" Peoples
Ben "benz1ne" Bell
Andy "RcO" Hesky

(You can read statements from the players and management in full on the following page)