4 months later, 'Dota 2' teams, talent and organizers say they still haven't been paid

Several individuals say they have not been paid for participating in and working at a Dota 2 tournament in November 2016, including event organizers, on-air talent and at least three teams.

Pro Dota 2 teams CompLexity Gaming, Alliance and Team NP as well as event talent and organizers from BEAT Gaming have all reportedly not been paid by Northern Arena for November's Northern Arena BEAT Invitational, according to TheScore Esports. The three teams are the only ones that have confirmed to TheScore that they haven't been paid, although it's possible that others have not been paid.

Northern Arena CEO Carl-Edwin Michel confirmed to TheScore that multiple teams have yet to be paid by Northern Arena, although the company intends to pay the remaining teams.

"'We have already paid most of the teams,' Michel said in an email to TheScore Esports. 'We are in touch with the remaining ones and made payment arrangement with them. One thing for sure is that we are committed to pay all the remaining teams and move on to our next events. We want to make good on our word and deliver even greater events this year.'"

For their placements in the tournament, CompLexity Gaming, Alliance and Team NP are owed $2,000, $4,000 and $20,000 respectively, making up $26,000 of the total $100,000 prize pool. A CompLexity spokesperson told TheScore that tournament organizers told them they'd be paid the day or week of the tournament.

The on-air host of the Northern Arena BEAT Invitational Andrew "Zyori" Campbell told TheScore that the entire talent team for the event had yet to be paid. The talent team includes a panelist, a statistician, three casters, four analysts and two observers who worked the three-day event in Montreal.

BEAT Gaming, which organized the invitational within the larger Northern Arena event, told TheScore that the organization paid for several fees and workers out of pocket with the expectation of reimbursement from Northern Arena. Reimbursement never came.

"'BEAT Gaming has paid staff wages and various expenses out of pocket for admins,' a representative for BEAT Gaming told TheScore Esports via email. 'This being said, the responsibility for payment of expenses related to the event, including payment of prize pools and the expenses of the teams in attendance, lies with Northern Arena.'

'Anyone who was brought under the BEAT banner was paid wages by us out of pocket. This included stats, admins for the event and our translator. Northern Arena is responsible for reimbursing us for those wages.'"

Michel told TheScore that Northern Arena is a small startup and are "on the verge of signing a big investor to sustain the future of Northern Arena." He also said BEAT Gaming's accusations are false and there was actually a breach of contract which the two organizations are in a legal dispute over.

The Dota 2 teams, on-air talent, BEAT Gaming and Northern Arena did not immediately respond to our request for comment.