Recently, the story of Windigo – the CS:GO organization that had to disband due to financial reasons – has been one of the hot topics in the global CS:GO community. Specifically, this Bulgarian team was unable to maintain their roster because they could not pay salaries to the players, with the main source of funding they were expecting being the prize money from the WESG 2018 tournament – where they emerged as champions with a total prize pool of $500,000 (equivalent to over 11 billion VND). In addition to WESG, many other CS:GO tournaments also delayed prize payouts, forcing Windigo to end their hopes of having a Bulgarian team compete in the most prestigious arenas.
Windigo became the WESG 2018 champion, but the delay in prize payment left them without sufficient funds to sustain the team, leading to its dissolution in October 2019.
Recently, Mr. Arter Yermoleyev – one of the founders of Windigo – joyfully announced that WESG had fully paid the $500,000 prize money, distributing it to the players on the championship roster. Perhaps due to the rapid spread of this news in the international community, the tournament prize was resolved quickly for Windigo.
On WESG’s side, their representatives emphasized that the company is still “in regular contact with Windigo members to address payment issues,” blaming bank procedures, regulations, and the Covid-19 pandemic for the payment delays.
After Windigo disbanded, the members of the WESG 2018 championship roster also went their separate ways to find new opportunities to develop their careers. The late prize money from WESG eventually reached the players, but if the tournament organizers had paid out earlier, Windigo might have maintained their roster and achieved more, as $500,000 is an enormous amount in a country like Bulgaria, helping gamers sustain their lives and focus on developing their skills.
The ongoing drama regarding finances and the lack of professionalism in the organization and management of WESG is causing this esports event, which boasts a massive prize pool, to lose credibility among gamers. WESG has not made any new announcements regarding the WESG 2019 World Finals, as the Covid-19 pandemic forced them to cancel the Asia-Pacific regional finals, which were scheduled to take place in February this year.