A Apex Legends esports player said he was wrongly awarded over $100,000 in tournament money after playing just a few games in the Apex Legends Global Series earlier this year. After multiple other players reported payment issues — including drastically reduced prizes — tournament organizer ESL FACEIT Group is claiming responsibility for the blunder.
“Due to a system error, a number of players have been unable to play in the past Apex Legends “Global Series matches received incorrect prize payouts,” an ESL FACEIT representative told Polygon. “As the partner responsible for award distribution, we are working to quickly resolve this issue and ensure all players receive the correct prize payouts.”
Apex Legends Global Series is the official release date from developer Respawn Entertainment and publisher Electronic Arts Apex Legends esports league that started in January. It is divided into different regions, which then lead to regional events and a championship round. Zeddo, the Apex Legends player who was paid $100,000 played a few games with Native Gaming and expected a much lower payout.
“I was just waiting to get paid for what I played, which was just one weekend with N8V,” Zeddo told Polygon via direct message. “I was streaming when I got that email notification congratulating me on ‘getting first place in the Split 1 Pro League.'”
He told Polygon that it was “shocking” and “a little scary” to have that much money in his account. “I hope it doesn’t affect me and my taxes or anything,” Zeddo said. “(It’s also) motivating. 100k is life-changing money and it made me think about what I would really do to change my life if it was really mine.”
Chase “Shooby” Vasquez is one of the few other players who reported that they had been paid incorrectly a lower amount than expected: The team he played with, Elev8 Gaming, earned $11,000 for finishing 16th in the playoffs and $6,000 for finishing sixth in the North American event. Individually, that meant he would have earned $5,600, but he only got $512. (Players appear to be paid individually, not as a team.) Tyler “Tyler” Wood, playing with Navi in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa division, expected a few thousand dollars for second place; as a team, Navi expected to get $15,000, but Wood said he only got $600. Another player from that division, who goes by Feuda online, posted a screenshot of his payout: £137,430.55, despite his team finishing in 11th place, which would mean the team’s expected total would be $3,000. Meanwhile, Korean Apex Legends pro Lee “KaronPe” Min-hyuk, who won a total of $315,000 with his team Reject Winnity, only got $475.85, according to a post on X.
Stephen “Reedz” Bailey, a Canadian player in the North American region, told Polygon that he hasn’t been paid at all; he expects to receive around $1,000 for his 12th-place finish in late March. A representative for ESL FACEIT declined to share how many players were affected due to “GDPR/privacy concerns.”
Unfortunately it is it is not uncommon to see payout issues in esports. No esport is safe: It happened to Fortnite players, Brave players, Overwatch playersand much more. Professional players are used to waiting months for payouts. “I think the amount of winnings that are sent to the wrong player(s) is the most surprising,” Zeddo said.
Update: This story has been updated with an additional statement from an ESL FACEIT representative.