India's leading organizer of eSports tournaments, Skyesports, announced the Skyesports Masters 2023 with a prize pool of $245,000 in a bid to revive the local eSports scene. However, nearly 10 months after the event ended, most players have not received their prize money.

According to Dust2 India, the originally announced prize pool of $245,000 turned out to be just a sham. Most of the funds were meant to be returned to the organizations as compensation for the fee they paid to participate in the tournament.

Each organization signed two agreements with Skyesports in late June 2023, just prior to the tournament. Under the League Participation Agreement, each organization paid Skyesports INR 50 million as a "participation fee". In return, Skyesports committed to pay the organizations revenue in three forms:

• Minimum Guarantee: INR 5 million (~US$60k) through branded merchandise and revenue from sponsors.
• Stipend: INR 15 million for the first three months added to the prize pool.
• Net Income: After the minimum guarantee is paid, Skyesports distributes the remaining income in a 60:40 ratio to the organizations.

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Sources say that Skyesports has been unable to attract the expected revenue from sponsors, which has led to a delay in payments. Under the pressure of upcoming tournaments, the company has paid only INR 5 million from the prize pool to all organizations except 7SEA till the end of April. Skyesports has denied the allegations, claiming that the entire amount of the prize pool has been paid to the organizations. However, Dust2 India has confirmed that Skyesports paid a total of INR 19.75 million, of which only INR 4.75 million was the prize money and the remaining INR 15 million was a stipend.

Most organizations refused to pay the players even the INR 5 million they received. Players, many of whom left their jobs and studies to participate in the tournament, were left without the expected payments. Some organizations have refused to pay players' salaries, relying on the prize money.

Players told that Skyesports and organizations misled them by promising payments, which were then deducted from the prize pool. As of today, the situation remains uncertain and many players continue to wait for their payouts. Leading tournament organizers such as Skyesports are facing heavy criticism for their actions and failure to honor their commitments to players.

Source: Dust2 India