Chinese esports organization Newbee has been accused of stealing over $100,000 of prize money from its Fortnite World Cup players.
The Fortnite World Cup took place in 2019 and guaranteed every participant at least $50,000 each just for qualifying, but it is now being reported that Newbee’s representatives at the tournament didn’t see a single dollar of that prize money — and potentially more.
Rhidax, who coaches Fortnite players in the EU and Asia regions, tweeted on July 21 about the situation that developed at Newbee both in Fortnite and their wider esports ownership.
Rhidax opened by stating that the organization’s Dota 2 team has disbanded over match-fixing allegations in the Chinese Dota 2 professional league, before accusing the org of “trapping their players in contracts” and “stealing all Fortnite prize money since World Cup.”
As Rhidax notes, this also could explain why Newbee’s Fortnite World Cup duo — XXM and Xmende — quit the game completely immediately following the record-breaking tournament.
This also explains the whole "why did 2 World Cup qualifiers quit the game immediately" situation, I wouldn't play if I just had 50k stolen from me.
Reminder, these are literal TEENAGERS. pic.twitter.com/1GKuEx3eQQ
— Rhidax (@rhidax_) July 21, 2020
In a follow-up tweet, Rhidax even provided screenshots of text message conversations he had with various parties, including one in which he asks a “trusted source” whether the two players ever got their prize money.
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“No,” they responded. “It’s all been swallowed by the organization. They can’t even beat them in a lawsuit.”
Photo 1 and 2 are screenshots with WenQian, who had over 10k stolen from him.
3 is from a trusted source close to the players, name has been blurred out. pic.twitter.com/jd63I8YKdn
— Rhidax (@rhidax_) July 21, 2020
Rhidax also went on to tell fellow coach and analyst DestinysJesus that he would “be surprised if there’s an org that’s scammed more than this in Fortnite.”
Be surprised if there’s an org that’s scammed more than this in Fortnite
— Rhidax (@rhidax_) July 21, 2020
How much truth is in these accusation remains a question, as the organization have yet to comment or respond, having not posted on their social media accounts since February 2020.
Newbee established itself as a world-caliber organization with frequent attendance at Dota 2’s annual The International tournament, including winning it in 2014. If these allegations turn out to be true, there will likely be investigations into the team’s conduct over recent years to figure out whether this is an ongoing issue or a one-off.