Yet another VALORANT Challengers League that makes up the tier-two ecosystem in EMEA is reportedly struggling in the wake of substantial financial issues, including huge sums of money owed to players and casters from teams and the broadcast organizers, respectively.
Three teams that left the VALORANT France Challengers league (Revolution) owe “nearly €50,000 in unpaid bills to players,” according to a report from journalists Corentin Phalip and Lucas Jacque, who cover the French VALORANT scene for Eclypsia. The league’s organizer Freaks4U also reportedly owes over 30,000 euros to its casters.
Three organizations that competed in the first split of Revolution have already parted ways with their rosters: Sector One, HEET, and beGenius ESC. In fact, Sector One as an organization ceased all operations just days into the first Revolution split way back in January.
Related: VALORANT Challengers League forced to cut content and broadcasts after sponsors pull out
According to the Eclypsia report, the former beGenius manager said on Twitter that late payments were a frequent occurrence and that the organization’s management “had lied about the club’s financial health.” BeGenius co-owner Nicolas “Tyxbo” Durrieu responded the next day, confirming the org’s departure from VALORANT. While Tyxbo denied that the club was in poor financial health, he did confirm that financial issues were a reason why it left.
Lack of sponsorships in the VALORANT France Challengers league appears to be the prevailing issue leading to the organizations stepping away, and the lack of funds coming into the league has affected Freaks4U’s ability to pay casters on time. The Freaks4U vice president provided a statement to Eclypsia in which they took responsibility for “the company’s billing process,” but placed blame on the “current state of the global economy.”
The casters who are owed money are reportedly threatening not to return for the VCT EMEA debut in just a few days.
