Riot Games’ confirmation that the VCS cannot participate in Worlds 2021 has left a lot of disappointment in the Vietnamese League of Legends community, especially among the players. After three consecutive times not being able to attend international tournaments, even a calm person who rarely shows emotions on social media like Levi – the captain of GAM Esports, has expressed his disappointment.
In addition, he also sought comfort by sharing old memories, specifically the time exactly two years ago when GAM Esports officially returned to the international arena by securing a spot at Worlds 2019 after a two-year absence since Worlds 2017.
However, it seems that this memory brings not only joy but also some “unspeakable sorrows” for the GAM players. In the comments, Slay – one of the members of GAM who participated in Worlds 2019, revealed that he has yet to receive the prize money from this tournament, even though two years have passed.
When it comes to salary and prize money debts, many might immediately think the responsibility lies with GAM Esports. However, specifically regarding Slay’s case, the delay in receiving prize money from Worlds 2019 could also be related to Riot Games.
This is not the first time players and teams participating in Worlds have mentioned delays in prize money disbursement. Back in 2020, Cuvee – the champion of Worlds 2017, even revealed that he still hadn’t received his share of the revenue from the sale of the championship skins for Samsung Galaxy, despite three years having passed since he won, and two years since the SSG skins were released.
Overall, this information has only been shared by Slay in the form of a “random comment” and is not yet a specific “exposé”. However, as mentioned earlier with the example of Cuvee, it can be seen that Riot’s delay in disbursing Worlds prize money is possible. But perhaps this issue is, to some extent, still “acceptable” (it might be a delay in disbursement but ensuring full payment), hence there haven’t been many cases reported where players have expressed negative feedback (both Slay and Cuvee just “mentioned it casually” without criticizing any related parties).