Monte: "We paid absolutely all salaries to players, never acting against the terms of the contracts"

Ukrainian esports organization Monte released an official statement denying the accusations made by former players. The club noted that payment delays did occur, but Monte has now fully fulfilled all its financial obligations to its former team members.

First of all, we want to apologize for some of the words used – they were written in the heat of emotion and do not reflect reality. We are sorry that this happened, but measures have already been taken regarding certain staff members.

We stand for transparent and honest esports toward all parties. Salaries must be paid on time and in full, and contractual obligations must be fulfilled. There is no other way to see it.

We would like to note that none of Monte's former employees/players have any financial claims against the organization. We always work honestly and strictly within the law. We are confident that before last days you had not heard any similar accusations against us.

If you know how esports works, you should understand the problems most tier-2 organizations and below face. The ranking system is so brutal that to break into the top, you need stable funding. And even that does not guarantee success. You can travel to several LAN tournaments every month, spend tens of thousands of dollars, pay salaries – and with a high probability it will all be for nothing. Running a CS2 organization these days is about enthusiasm and love for the game, not business.

Over the past two years, we have done everything we could to bring Monte back to the top – the level we were at in 2023. During this period we had no stable funding, we faced a financial crisis, we had to cut staff – all so the team could survive. Yes, we were never perfect. We did sometimes have salary delays (2-3 weeks at most), but we always paid everything down to the last penny and always informed the players about it. We always fulfilled our contractual obligations in full.

Now picture this. You work for two years toward one goal, squeezing every bit of the team's budget, finding funds for its survival through impossible means. You build a team that feels like a family, where everyone has each other's backs. You work toward your goal together. All the players are happy and content in this organization. You achieve the goal that was everyone's dream.

But then you find out that everything was not as it seemed. Your own players, it turns out, decided the organization's, the captain's, and the coach's fate for them. They do not tell anyone anything, they smile to your face and talk about plans for the future. But behind your back, contracts are already signed.

And now everything you built over the years is destroyed. And now you have to start over.

Such are the realities of tier 2-3 teams. This was not written to evoke pity – no, we fully deserve your hate. It was written so you understand how esports works.

But now we would like to respond to the players' accusations regarding financial obligations, so you can hear the other side:

1) Payment of salaries and prize money

We have always been open and maintained communication, never ignoring anyone. And once again we state – we paid absolutely all salaries to players, never acting against the terms of the contracts.

Before the Major in Cologne, salaries were paid regularly, on a monthly basis. Prize money payouts for tournaments were made in accordance with contracts, after the funds were credited to the company's account by the tournament operators.

Likewise, after it became clear that these players, while still players of Monte, had already signed contracts with another organization, and after clarifying all the circumstances and details, settlement with the players took place in accordance with all terms of the contractual obligations.

2) Sticker payments

Regarding sticker payments – not once did the players or their agents reach out to us about this issue. Secondly, the players' contracts stated that they receive 100% of their own stickers and a portion of the team ones. But under Valve's new system, the pool is split 50/50 between payouts to the organization and to the players. Accordingly, the player received their share of the payment, and we received ours.

Earlier, Luminocity's Aleks "Rainwaker" Petrov, Oscar "AZUWU" Bell, and Aurélien "afro" Drapier supported their former teammate, Aurimas "Bymas" Pipiras, who accused Monte of failing to meet financial obligations and systematically delaying payments.

Origin: x.com