Co-owner of Denial eSports Zack Smith resigned from his post after rumors about the organization’s debt to the players and the Overtime Esport team appeared in the press. Smith acknowledged that he did not pay the composition, but explained that he had the right to do so due to the nature of the contracts.
Bogus contracts
In January 2019, Denial signed the Call of Duty lineup, which previously represented Overtime Esport. With this transfer, Denial also got the slot of the team in the CWL Pro League tournament. A source close to the participants in the controversy said that the players had been sent a notice that they would receive € 26,500 per team every month. However, after this, Zack Smith offered them contracts without pay because they did not have work visas. The players had to sign documents, because without this they were not eligible to participate in the CWL Pro League.
One of the employees, Denial Justy Jacobson said the players agreed to these terms. In return, the organization assumed the costs of accommodation, food and other needs of the players until the process of obtaining visas is completed.
https://twitter.com/DenialEsports/status/1090017493022760961
After that, the athletes were kept in the dark for a long time – on April 23 they contacted Zach Smith, and he said that in a couple of days they would be able to get visas. On May 1, the former owner of the club requested the players’ bank accounts to pay them, but at the time of the publication of the material, the players did not receive the money.
More payments due
Overtime Esport also did not receive compensation for the sale of the team and slots in the CWL Pro League. Denial promised to pay € 40,000 for a place in the league until March 9, but the amount has not yet been credited to Overtime.
After announcing his retirement from Denial, Zack Smith announced that the organization would soon pay off wage arrears to the players. Yet he still didn’t make any comment about the payments not being made to Overtime Esport. Denial eSports is the American organization most known for its Call of Duty lineup, which in 2015 became the world champion in this discipline. Its players also perform in other shooters: CS: GO, Halo and Overwatch.
We believe that some legal action should be taken against Zack and Denial since they took advantage of the Visa problems of the players. Such illegal acts are becoming quite common in the eSports industry. Since the players are in dire need of a platform to kick off their careers and these fraudulent organizations are popping up to benefit from their struggles. There should be a an organization that should regulate the terms of the contracts for every competitive eSports title. To put a stop to these illegal money making schemes.
