No payments for pro Apex Legends women this Christmas as Galaxy Racer misses vital contract date

HER Galaxy and Galaxy Racer were contractually obliged to pay $100,000 of outstanding prize money for a women’s Apex Legends tournament by Dec. 22. This date has now passed without the tournament organizers even contacting those owed money to collect payment information, despite Galaxy Racer receiving new funding in the interim. 

Galaxy Racer’s HER Galaxy tournament ran from April to June 2023, enticing pro women in the Apex community to compete for a historic $100,000 prize pool. But more recently, Galaxy Racer laid off its NA team and has ignored competitors’ pleas for information on their prize money. 

Galaxy Racer has a controversial history with payments. In September 2023, an anonymous whistleblower reached out to The Esports Advocate, exposing a plethora of payment issues including unpaid HER Galaxy staff. The whistleblower claimed that not only have many payments across all facets of Galaxy Racer and Nigma Galaxy been delayed or not received, but also that “men are being prioritized over women when people do get paid.”

This is a serious allegation from the whistleblower, but it does not seem out of the question given that HER Galaxy staff have reportedly been paid while the all-female competitors have not. 

Galaxy Racer chief of staff Walid Singer contacted Dot Esports following a Dec. 1 report on HER Galaxy and its payment issues. After the Dec. 22 deadline passed, he was once again contacted by Dot Esports for comment regarding why Galaxy Racer has not even collected the necessary payment information to distribute the prize pool, let alone pay the players what they are owed. In response to the Dec. 22 message, Singer claimed “the deadline is in December and we will pay out prize pools in December,” suggesting that the senior staff at Galaxy might be unaware that the contract sent to competitors says otherwise. 

Singer was likely referencing the email players received when HER Galaxy announced its withdrawal from tournament organization projects. In this email, Galaxy Racer director of NA operations Joyce Ajouri communicated that “all tournament payouts will be fulfilled in the month of December.” But, as previously stated, this breaches what players were told when they signed up for the tournament. 

Another development in HER Galaxy’s non-payment issue is the competitors’ worry that Galaxy Racer will attempt to evade payment responsibility through its Nov. 30 email or another potential loophole. 

Under section 10.1.2 of the HER Galaxy rulebook, it says “if a participant fails to provide accurate payment information, an invoice or other required documentation (e.g. tax documents), the prize money will not be paid out until a reasonable time after this has been rectified.” Neither HER Galaxy nor Galaxy Racer staff have collected payment information from competitors, meaning necessary details are not at their disposal. This is the fault of Galaxy Racer, not the competitors. Nevertheless, this concern has been publicly voiced. 

Importantly, former HER Galaxy employees are also not at fault for the non-payment of prize money. Discord screenshots circulating from a former employee show them apologizing for the persisting issue and lamenting that “it was none of our intentions for it to end like this and if we knew it would, none of us would have continued.” They also suggested other contacts that unpaid players could reach out to, given that they were all laid off on Nov. 30.

Another aspect of this situation is the fact that the organization received a new round of funding this summer. Galaxy Racer received an undisclosed amount of money from a seed funding round on July 21, according to records on Tracxn. 

The fact that contractually owed prize money promised to 20 teams is still unpaid after the company received funding calls into question Galaxy Racer’s priorities. As tournament organizers, the payout of its self-proclaimed historic tournament should be a priority. To ignore pleas for communication is disrespectful to the women who were dedicated to its tournament. 

Unpaid competitors have become increasingly restless and aggravated by the absence of communication from Galaxy Racer since Dot Esports first reported on the issue on Dec. 1, particularly due to the intense commitment they made to compete. The HER Galaxy tournament was no small task.

Those who competed in the HER Galaxy grand final on June 25 progressed through weeks of rounds, committing long hours to reach the final. Competitor “woomy” complained to Dot Esports after Dec. 22 that the process was incredibly “intensive” and Galaxy Racer was “trying to save face and scam us all at the same time.” 

Nov. 30 marked the last concrete communication unpaid competitors received from HER Galaxy, where the organization claimed players would be paid in the month of December. But players were intent on ensuring HER Galaxy and Galaxy Racer respected their contractual obligation to pay players within 90 to 180 days of the tournament’s end.  

Instead of becoming a historic tournament for providing the largest prize pool in women’s competitive Apex history, the organizer is leaving a legacy of distrust. Players feel betrayed, scammed, and dismissed. All the while, Galaxy Racer continues to neglect to address the situation publicly. 

Dot Esports has reached out to other Galaxy Racer employees for further comment, but no statement has been given. Without open communication, it is unclear how Galaxy Racer plans to rebuild trust with the community—that is, if it plans to at all. 

Disclosure: GAMURS Group shares a shareholder with Galaxy Racer/HER Galaxy in Elysian Park Ventures.

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