An Apex Legends pro ‘Zeddo’ has claimed that he was paid $100,000 in prize winnings for his placement at the ALGS NA Pro League Split 1, but he only ever subbed in for the 12th-place team.
Zeddo posted the claim to social media on July 9 including a screenshot of an email from Esports Engine, a tournament organizer that has run multiple top esports leagues including ALGS events.
The photos included the total the TO allegedly sent to him, which was $100,026.45.
Zeddo subbed in for Native Gaming during the split for one day but was not a full-time pro for the team. Native Gaming finished 12th in the competition, earning a total of $2,000 in prize winnings.
That one match day with N8V really paid off 📈 pic.twitter.com/gdSIBJb7uZ
— Zeddo (☆_@) (@zeddofps) July 9, 2024
Many other Apex Legends pros have also taken to social media to accuse the Apex Legends Global Series of delaying their prize pool payments and sending across a meager amount instead.
Chase ‘Shooby’ Vasquez finished sixth in the 2024 North American Split 1 Pro League and 16th in the Split 2 Playoffs.
But he has since accused the league of failing to pay out a large portion of the prize pool he won with Elev8 Gaming during the first North American Pro League split of 2024 and the Split 1 Playoffs on July 9.
“I was paid only $512 of the $5600 I’m owed by ALGS ($2000 for pro league split 1 & $3600 for playoffs split 1) these tourneys were played months ago,” he claimed.
Shooby also included a screenshot of an email from EsportsEngine that said he would be fully paid in five business days.
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The Apex Legends pro explained in a reply that waiting two or three months for prize money is typical, but was frustrated when he ended up waiting three months to receive only $500.
Other ALGS players have come forward saying in replies to Shooby’s post that they were also waiting on the rest of their prize pool winnings from Pro League, Split 1 Playoffs, or both, including Will ‘TeQ’ Starck, James ‘KIMCHILEE’ Lee, Stephen ‘Reedz’ Bailey, Tyler ‘Tyler’ Wood, and Casper ‘Gnaske’ Præstensgaard.
exact same happen to me, i placed 2nd and got paid $600
— Tyler (@tylerfps_) July 9, 2024
Gnaske, who currently plays for Ninjas in Pyjamas, claimed he was also “scammed” out of thousands in prize winnings from the 2024 EMEA Pro League and Split 1 Playoffs. He included a screenshot of an email, also sent from Esports Engine.
@pglesports y'all scammed me out of a lot of money too, I was supposed to receive 6333$ but only got 992 pic.twitter.com/nDeF2funvU
— NIP Gnaske (@Gnaske_Lone) July 9, 2024
Esports Engine and its parent company Vindex was acquired by ESL Faceit Group in 2023 and have since been under the umbrella of the Savvy Games Group. The company was hit with layoffs shortly after its acquisition and its social media accounts have not posted since 2023.
EFG took responsibility for the apparent accounting error in a statement to Polygon.
“Due to a systems error, a number of players in recent Apex Legends Global Series competitions received incorrect prize payouts,” an ESL FACEIT representative said. “As the partner responsible for prize fulfillment, we’re working to quickly resolve this issue and ensure that all players receive the correct prize payouts.”
This situation comes as casual players have started to discuss whether Apex Legends is nearing the end of its lifespan. The game’s active player count has hit record lows, streamers are decrying the amount of cheaters in their matches, and the new Battle Pass system has not been received well.