OG accused of withholding prize money from their players: situation details

Esports organization OG is being accused of withholding prize money from former players of its Dota 2 roster for over a year. Allegedly, OG has yet to pay out earnings from two of the biggest tournaments of 2024 — ESL One Birmingham and the Esports World Cup (Riyadh Masters 2024).

This was reported by rdy.gg, citing multiple anonymous sources.

According to the report, the issue involves $85,000 for a 4th place finish at ESL One Birmingham and $100,000 for a top-12 placement at the EWC. Sources claim the money was transferred to OG corporate account but never reached the players. Some players reportedly made repeated formal requests for their earnings throughout 2024, but received either no response or vague, evasive replies.

With the appointment of new CEO Daniel Sanders, responses did begin to come in — but insiders say the answers were inconsistent and lacked clear solutions.

One of the most troubling allegations is that the players’ prize money may have been invested into OG own business operations without their consent. The players were also allegedly told the organization was facing cash flow issues and that all revenue was being used to keep the company running. According to sources, Sanders initially promised payouts within 60–90 days, but later pushed the deadline to the last quarter of 2025.

As of now, rdy.gg notes there is still no confirmed payment plan or timeline. OG has yet to issue an official statement regarding the situation.

It’s worth noting that OG previously announced that Johan “N0tail” Sundstein had been granted full creative freedom within the organization.