Every team that participated in season one of ELEAGUE’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament has been paid, an ELEAGUE spokesperson tells Dot Esports. The clarification comes after a report earlier today claimed that six teams were yet to receive any money.
The six Professional Esports Association (PEA) teams, which includes Cloud9, Team SoloMid, Team Liquid, Counter Logic Gaming, NRG Esports, and CompLexity Gaming—the remaining PEA team, Immortals, did not take part in season one—are currently in a compensation dispute with tournament organizer Turner Sports, according to a report from Slingshot Esports.
The six teams say that they have not been paid for season one and that they are owed an additional $30,000 each due to what they interpreted as ambiguous wording in their contracts, according to the report. They believe they are entitled to a $30,000 appearance fee on top of any prize money earned. The teams who finished bottom of their groups received $30,000 in prize money.
According to Turner, however, there was no guarantee of any appearance fee. Rather, teams were guaranteed at least $30,000 for appearing in the tournament.
“All teams have been compensated per our agreements with them,” an ELEAGUE spokesperson tells Dot Esports. “We value our relationships with all teams and will continue to provide a best-in-class experience for them.”
Cloud9 and Immortals did take part in the second season of ELEAGUE—though it is unknown if this dispute over payments arose before or after the second season. According to the report, the same contractual language was included in team agreements for the second season.
