This case involves multiple cases for Players and Staff who were mistreated and ransacked. This is a part of massive scandal that involves multiple divisions established in the name of Team GP. Currently more and more people are blowing the whistle against the owner, and the truth is keep coming out.
Will be keep updated.
First of all, this news came in recently from Ryung's personal Twitch stream. Due to Korean contracts within Twitch, the VOD is not generated automatically. However, some of the Korean Community has archived the initial exposed turmoil from former SC2 division of Team GP.
Further information is keep coming from former members (players and staff) of the team, so this will be updated as the sources accumulates.
At August 26th, (Korean Time), Ryung has exposed Team GP of not paying the salaries for its players.
Ryung has personally shared his damage :
- The Contract between Team GP and Ryung on 2022 Season has included : 1. Flight & Accomodation packages, since he didn't get direct invites. 2. Full Package covered until Dreamhack Atlanta 3. $1800+ monthly salaries
However, the flight packages has changed from direct flight package until Valencia into direct flight package until Madrid. Ryung was forced to take the train until Valencia, By himself.
He had to forfeit Dreamhack Valencia.
The full package wasn't covered in Atlanta either, so he had to pay himself to compete. His spend was 3.2 mil KRW (approx $2,700), but his earnings on the tournament was $1,000.
Furthermore, his 6 month worth of salaries, 13.5 mil KRW (approx. $11,000) total wasn't delivered. He only paid Ryung out only 3 mil KRW worth (approx $2,600), with he paid for installment of several payouts.
This has been prolonged over a year.
According to Ryung this is actually 10% scale worth of the incident. There are lots of things to be further exposed, as there are lot of unpaid earnings from several tournaments (including WTL) are remaining.
Further Investigations involved with other players, we have now identified multiple misconducts by the owner.
1. Wage Theft
- Almost all players involved in this team rarely got paid on time.
- Unpaid wages varied from 2~6 months worth, and mostly unexplained.
- Many foreign players had given up on getting paid for the remaining ones.
2. Prize Money Theft
- All players of Team GP didn't receive the prize money of WTL 2022 Winter.
- Prize Money on other tournaments also didn't get distributed properly as well.
- Prize Money wasn't paid out not only for their own players, but also their own tournaments. One of the tournaments launched in the team's name was conducted with a year-long period. The Group Stage held in April 2022, Playoffs at August, and The Finals at February 28, 2023 Anonymous source has revealed that players involved in this tournament didn't receive any prize money. They are still unpaid.
- Many Semi-pro, Amateur tournaments which were hosted by Team GP wasn't actually supported by the team itself, But mostly from the staff member's own money who was involved in the domestic amateur scene.
3. Mistreatment
- Some of the players has been told that their performance wasn't enough for their wages. Especially when in CTC (Chinese Team Championship), which had regulations to include at least one player from CN region, the owner openly called for replacements while the guy was still playing for the team.
- The owner also told to sell team uniform to their local fans. Ironically, even though they contributed, they didn't get their own jerseys because they "didn't pay" for it. The owner launched the new set of merch soon after some of the purchases were made.
Aside all the facts revealed, Ryung has revealed in his stream earlier today (to compete ESL Open Cup KR) that The owner, TheBar has contacted him the day after his initial stream. According to him TheBar has promised to pay out minimum portion of what SC2 division has owed as a whole, which Ryung has addressed heavily.
If the payout can't be met until the end of the week, Ryung stated he will expose other misconducts by the owner.
[Update, Sep 02 2023]
Ryung has revealed on his stream yesterday that the amount of money TheBar has promised got paid. So he decided to give him another chance to repay the whole team and watch over the process.
Ryung also mentioned on the condition of Leenock, the only active player on Team GP and also plays AOE4 now. According to Leenock he also didn't get paid for 5 months worth of his salary as well. He'll also monitor the situation, as Ryung told TheBar to pay him as soon as possible.
Currently Besides the SC2 Division, the issues were addressed for other divisions from the period of the past two years :
KartRider KartRider : Rush Plus (Mobile) PUBG Mobile Rainbow Six Siege League of Legends : Wild Rift (Mobile)
Am I crazy or didn't the owner of GP (TheBarTV) also ask the community for money for medical expenditures? (Someone correct me if the two things are not related) Shameful stuff if that's the case.
This is a damn shame on the guy, I remember team GP was playing very well during WTL 2022 and actually could get fan support through donation/merch. They were fun to watch and got very decent result, and now I know that they were doing all that while being "mis-treated" by the team Owner is just sad.
On August 28 2023 04:12 mathenalin wrote: Starcraft teams and not paying players. Name a more iconic duo
This happens in League of Legends and CS:GO too, the other 2 e-sports I follow. It's not just limited to SC2, though SC2 seems to be the worse offender because we have all these random no name teams.
Why the trigger warning? Players getting stiffed for their salary sucks, but it's hardly something that would send someone into a mental breakdown after reading about it lol.
On August 28 2023 23:34 sugarmuffinpuff wrote: Why the trigger warning? Players getting stiffed for their salary sucks, but it's hardly something that would send someone into a mental breakdown lol.
It sucks that taking someone to court for wage theft is so cumbersome for the average worker, especially at the individual level.
Instead of a tournament, we should crowdfund taking some shitty teamowners to town over unpaid wages and broken contracts, just to make a point that you can't get away with it . Kinda like Jessica legally went after random commenters on the internet for defamation, just to make the point
On August 28 2023 03:44 SupremeMaddox wrote: (...) - Prize Money wasn't paid out not only for their own players, but also their own tournaments. One of the tournaments launched in the team's name was conducted with a year-long period. The Group Stage held in April 2022, Playoffs at August, and The Finals at February 28, 2023 Anonymous source has revealed that players involved in this tournament didn't receive any prize money until now. (...)
Unfortunately, this is not all. Back when we signed Vindicta, he was already participating in this tournament and it had no coverage, so we decided to cast it. After we started broadcasting it, one of our viewers contacted us saying that the Matcherino (crowdfunding) page we were told to share was not the first one for this tournament. So we checked the account and indeed we found another Matcherino page already closed at $125 with "Not use Matcherino" paid out to TheBarTV.
After that, we decided to check the Matcherino pages of previous editions and we found out that Who is Amateur King #2 also had 2 pages. The first one paid out to TheBarTV under "Remake matcherino page" at $505. The second one had payouts for players but TheBarTV contributed only $350 under "Remake matcherino Page" and the payouts included $125 "For Next Tournament".
The whole situation seemed very fishy but we weren't there for the #2 edition, so we wanted to get some solid evidence. So after some discussion, we decided to complete the tournament and find out if the money will be properly paid out. We also contacted Team Super (another team who was sponsoring Who is Amateur King #3) to get information about how much exactly was their contribution to see if it adds up.
Unfortunately, that was when the SC2 tournament schedule got intense and a few events, including this one, got indefinitely postponed. We were never contacted about covering the Playoffs but now I see that they have been played and the Matcherino page is once again paid out in full to TheBarTV under just "payout".
Back then we got caught up with other projects and we didn't want to cause unnecessary drama for the players still on the team in case it's just poor tournament management. However, seeing how things have developed, we can only say that we are sorry about not getting the information about it to the public sooner.
Unfortunately, that was when the SC2 tournament schedule got intense and a few events, including this one, got indefinitely postponed. We were never contacted about covering the Playoffs but now I see that they have been played and the Matcherino page is once again paid out in full to TheBarTV under just "payout".
This is just beyond frustration. Thank you for sharing this.
On September 02 2023 11:53 Freeedom wrote: we got reached out for support and helped out as well, even tho we did say we have our own team and players to support. Sad to see.
Heard the story of course. You guys are really dedicated to the scene like no one else. Always appreciate it, and I hope you guys thrive in these tough days as well.
Don't all eSports teams lose money? How do the big reputable teams finance themselves? I am afraid that the result here is inevitable unless there is some very rich entity behind the team willing to burn money...
On September 05 2023 13:04 BjoernK wrote: Don't all eSports teams lose money? How do the big reputable teams finance themselves? I am afraid that the result here is inevitable unless there is some very rich entity behind the team willing to burn money...
Unfortunate reality but yes, all are pretty much operating at a loss.
Unless you're able to supplement enough through a heavy merch sales or some very lucrative sponsorship deal there is zero profit to be made. (and even then someone is reaping the negative ROI)
It isn't feasible for organizers or events to pay teams to attend their events outside of prize money. When something like League(riot) or WoW(Blizzard) esports operates their events in the negative and only as a service you start to see the big picture.
On September 05 2023 13:04 BjoernK wrote: Don't all eSports teams lose money? How do the big reputable teams finance themselves? I am afraid that the result here is inevitable unless there is some very rich entity behind the team willing to burn money...
Unfortunate reality but yes, all are pretty much operating at a loss.
Unless you're able to supplement enough through a heavy merch sales or some very lucrative sponsorship deal there is zero profit to be made.
It isn't feasible for organizers or events to pay teams to attend their events outside of prize money. When something like League(riot) or WoW(Blizzard) esports operates their events in the negative and only as a service you start to see the big picture.
Maybe I completly misunderstood you, but most of your points are...kinda wrong?
There is in fact a very big organizer that pays teams to attend their events outside of prize money - ESL in CS:GO with the Louvre-Agreement. While teams don't get directly paid for attendance, the partner teams have to attend a certain amount of events. In turn, Partner teams get a share of the profits, Also if I remember correctly, because of an earlier agreement, ESL has to make travel accomondations - which by now are industry-standard for most big esports.
It is also not entirely true that Riot and Blizzard operate their Esports "as a service". While it is probably true that the entire LoL Championship is not operating at a profit (though I kinda doubt the loss is too heavy), it is an extremly important advertisement tool for the game. The circuit Riot created for LoL and Valorant is way too big to just do so out of the goodness of their hearts. Especially since you don't need to - Valve is half-assing DotA2 for years and the TI is still one of the biggest Esports events of the year, even though the entire circuit is a total shit-show
Of course vor Activision Blizzard and the OWL/CDL there is a different discussion to be made, but I don't think all these investors pumped in a combined 300+ million for a "service". Even though it is very clear that these two leagues don't generate any big amount of profit for the teams
On September 05 2023 13:04 BjoernK wrote: Don't all eSports teams lose money? How do the big reputable teams finance themselves? I am afraid that the result here is inevitable unless there is some very rich entity behind the team willing to burn money...
Unfortunate reality but yes, all are pretty much operating at a loss.
Unless you're able to supplement enough through a heavy merch sales or some very lucrative sponsorship deal there is zero profit to be made.
It isn't feasible for organizers or events to pay teams to attend their events outside of prize money. When something like League(riot) or WoW(Blizzard) esports operates their events in the negative and only as a service you start to see the big picture.
Maybe I completly misunderstood you, but most of your points are...kinda wrong?
There is in fact a very big organizer that pays teams to attend their events outside of prize money - ESL in CS:GO with the Louvre-Agreement. While teams don't get directly paid for attendance, the partner teams have to attend a certain amount of events. In turn, Partner teams get a share of the profits, Also if I remember correctly, because of an earlier agreement, ESL has to make travel accomondations - which by now are industry-standard for most big esports.
It is also not entirely true that Riot and Blizzard operate their Esports "as a service". While it is probably true that the entire LoL Championship is not operating at a profit (though I kinda doubt the loss is too heavy), it is an extremly important advertisement tool for the game. The circuit Riot created for LoL and Valorant is way too big to just do so out of the goodness of their hearts. Especially since you don't need to - Valve is half-assing DotA2 for years and the TI is still one of the biggest Esports events of the year, even though the entire circuit is a total shit-show
Of course vor Activision Blizzard and the OWL/CDL there is a different discussion to be made, but I don't think all these investors pumped in a combined 300+ million for a "service". Even though it is very clear that these two leagues don't generate any big amount of profit for the teams
We were referencing teams.
But I'll go ahead and do you a solid by pointing out that even your one off example, at several points it's still hemorrhaging money as far as 'eSports' in concerned, and would not be sustainable by itself.
Magical money fountains such as skin shops, cs:go gambling, microtransactions, or investors that allow something to exist doesn't change any notion that the past decade has only reinforced.
On September 05 2023 13:04 BjoernK wrote: Don't all eSports teams lose money? How do the big reputable teams finance themselves? I am afraid that the result here is inevitable unless there is some very rich entity behind the team willing to burn money...
Unfortunate reality but yes, all are pretty much operating at a loss.
Unless you're able to supplement enough through a heavy merch sales or some very lucrative sponsorship deal there is zero profit to be made.
It isn't feasible for organizers or events to pay teams to attend their events outside of prize money. When something like League(riot) or WoW(Blizzard) esports operates their events in the negative and only as a service you start to see the big picture.
Maybe I completly misunderstood you, but most of your points are...kinda wrong?
There is in fact a very big organizer that pays teams to attend their events outside of prize money - ESL in CS:GO with the Louvre-Agreement. While teams don't get directly paid for attendance, the partner teams have to attend a certain amount of events. In turn, Partner teams get a share of the profits, Also if I remember correctly, because of an earlier agreement, ESL has to make travel accomondations - which by now are industry-standard for most big esports.
It is also not entirely true that Riot and Blizzard operate their Esports "as a service". While it is probably true that the entire LoL Championship is not operating at a profit (though I kinda doubt the loss is too heavy), it is an extremly important advertisement tool for the game. The circuit Riot created for LoL and Valorant is way too big to just do so out of the goodness of their hearts. Especially since you don't need to - Valve is half-assing DotA2 for years and the TI is still one of the biggest Esports events of the year, even though the entire circuit is a total shit-show
Of course vor Activision Blizzard and the OWL/CDL there is a different discussion to be made, but I don't think all these investors pumped in a combined 300+ million for a "service". Even though it is very clear that these two leagues don't generate any big amount of profit for the teams
We were referencing teams.
But I'll go ahead and do you a solid by pointing out that even your one off example, at several points it's still hemorrhaging money as far as 'eSports' in concerned, and would not be sustainable by itself.
Magical money fountains such as skin shops, cs:go gambling, microtransactions, or investors that allow something to exist doesn't change any notion that the past decade has only reinforced.
I mean, you completly ignored my post and just threw in some buzzwords, but sure, nice talk!
EPT
. Kinda like Jessica legally went after random commenters on the internet for defamation, just to make the point 
