Valve suing tournament organizer GESC for owing more than $750,000

Olivia Richman Published 20/12/2019

Not too long after it was revealed that StarLadder was withholding payment from tournament talent, it’s come to light that another tournament organizer, GESC, has also failed to pay talent and give out prize money.

But this time something is being done about it.

Unfortunately, prolonged wait periods for checks in the esports industry is not unheard of. But Valve Corporation has decided to file a lawsuit against GESC after the Singapore-based company failed to pay talent from two different Dota 2 Minor events, GESC Indonesia and Thailand. The two tournaments took place in spring of last year.

GESC reportedly owes over $750,000 to not only teams, players, and talent, but agencies as well.

Valve’s VP of marketing, Doug Lombardi, told Dot Esports that the game developer had filed the lawsuit on April 8 in the High Court of the Republic of Singapore. They have also discontinued their partnership with GESC, citing the operator’s failure to pay participants in a timely manner.

“We feel this is vital to the success of these events long term,” Lombardi said. “When operators fail to meet those requirements, we follow up.”

GESC Indonesian and Thailand had $300,000 in prize money on the line. The Valve-sponsored tournaments also had qualification points towards The International 2018 on the line.

Valve also sponsored the StarLadder-run ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor Season 2 this summer. It was reportedly over six months until talent received their paychecks for broadcasting and hosting the event. Valve hasn’t made any statements regarding this situation, although StarLadder has come forward and revealed that they’ve paid all but one person at this time.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is another esports title going through a similar isue. After not receiving their prize money from multiple WESG tournaments (totaling more than $560,000), Windigo Gaming left the CSGO scene in October.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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