Winstrike Team accused of violating contractual obligations by Virtus Pro, other CIS teams

Four different esports organizations in the CIS region penned an open letter to Winstrike Team today, claiming that the team violated multiple monetary and contractual obligations over the last year.

Virtus Pro, forZe eSports, Gambit Esports, and HellRaisers have all been involved in various deals regarding Winstrike in the Dota 2 scene. They’re claiming that the organization missed multiple payment deadlines for players and other teams.

Winstrike as an organization holds teams in Dota and CS:GO, while previously competing in Overwatch and Fortnite. But now, CEO Yaroslav Komkov and the entire organization will be facing legal action from at least one of the other CIS teams for a lack of compensation and professionalism. 

Starting with Virtus Pro, the Dota juggernaut agreed in principle to a deal to transfer Vladimir “RodjER” Nikogosyan to Winstrike since the other organization wanted a veteran captain for its new roster. The deal was agreed to on Oct. 23 and the transfer fee was meant to be paid a month after the signing date. 

But the team wasn’t paid until six months later, according to VP. RodjER also reportedly hasn’t received any of his transfer payment from Winstrike, despite joining the team on Nov. 18 and acting as the organization’s captain for four months. 

HellRaisers and Winstrike agreed to deal where Ilya “ALOHADANCE” Korobkin was transferred to Winstrike’s roster. But instead of the contract’s full payment fee being delivered when the deal was made in November, Winstrike sent smaller monthly payments from December 2019 to March until the payment was complete, according to HellRaisers.

The organization has since stopped responding to HellRaisers in regard to penalty payments for the delay in transfer fees. ALOHADANCE left the roster alongside RodjER in February. 

Winstrike also sent a request to forZe eSports in November in hopes of purchasing one of the team’s rosters, though the specific roster is unnamed in the letter. The contract was signed on Jan. 20, with a payment deadline set for Feb. 21, according to forZe.

But after the deadline passed, Winstrike’s sports director Artem Panchenko reportedly asked that the contract be reduced by 50 percent due to restructuring within the organization. The forZe management team agreed to the deal as long as the payment was made in full by the end of February. But following those negotiations, Winstrike went silent, according to forZe.

An official complaint was issued toward Winstrike at the end of March and forZe will pursue legal action if the conditions aren’t met. 

Lastly, Gambit Esports agreed to send Nikita “Daxak” Kuzmin and Vasily “AfterLife” Shishkin to Winstrike’s Dota team during the same period in which deals were made to acquire RodjER and ALOHADANCE. Similar to those deals, Winstrike was to pay a commission for the transfer but didn’t meet the Dec. 23 payment deadline, according to Gambit.

Originally, Gambit wasn’t going to sue Winstrike over what the organization viewed as a misunderstanding. But that decision has changed, according to Russian esports news site cybersport.ru. Now, Gambit plans to pursue legal action following the information shared by other top CIS organizations. 

All four teams are moving forward with legal action at the moment. Winstrike has yet to comment on this situation.