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So… I not long ago, I made a post about wanting sportsgamer to be successful as that’s in the best interests of all of us to play competitive hockey. I also made it clear that I would like to see clarity in the reasons why payments haven’t been sent out in a timely manner and how the inner workings of sportsgamer operate…. Many others have asked for the same. I am disappointed that you have been given the opportunity to come out and just tell us exactly what’s going on…. This recent post you have written seems like you’ve told us what you want us to know to limit damage rather than telling us what we need to know. let’s make this simple…. what are the main reasons we choose sportsgamer and fees attached? 1. competitive hockey 2. thrill of potentially winning prize. those are the 2 biggest reasons we play alongside community etc…. If one of those 2 factors goes away… it makes the whole competition worthless….. we might as well play in a free league…. That’s currently the cross-roads people are at…. There are teams that haven’t been given THEIR earnings…. It makes it incredibly hard to retain trust in sportsgamer

Thank you Janikka and Imosi! 👑

Thank you for your openness and honesty, but I have many questions running through my mind. Who are these shareholders? The company’s board includes the same people who can be found online linked to several other companies, such as Sportsgamer, Pureevents, Street Games, etc. Why haven’t the “owners” paid salaries or agreed compensations to the employees? Why should we, as a community, pay the debts of very questionable owners? I would really appreciate an honest explanation of this situation. Right now, everything looks very suspicious. I’m sorry for being so blunt. I truly appreciate you, Kenu, and I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for the community, but sometimes we just have to face the facts. I don’t know whose responsibility this is, but I strongly recommend fixing the financial situation before asking the community for more money or alternatively, turning the whole ECL into a free service with a small participation fee, like €5 per person. No prize money should be awarded until the finances are clearly in order. At the moment, it feels like you’re asking the community to pay off a debt that has accumulated over the years, and that’s simply not right. I’m not blaming anyone personally, but the whole ownership situation seems very shady right now.

I have questions about the current organizational or ownership dynamics. A company called Reactio Media is or was somehow involved (as evidenced by the current Twitch account that hosts all the SportsGamer streams). I can't find any pertinent information about the company online, but its owners are involved in various companies whose background information is available. https://www.proff.fi/yrityksen/sports-gamer-oy/espoo/kuntosalit-ja-muu-urheilu/3192899-5I10L8 Here is some information on SportsGamer where we find those two names, the Salutskijs, that are involved in various companies, including SportsGamer today. Before I pay for any license or other fees to anyone, I want full transparency on the ownership. Who are these guys? What exactly does their involvement in SportsGamer entail? Some of the companies they are involved in have notably high turnover rates (which in no way guarantees that these companies are profitable, of course, but it's an interesting detail). Is some of the money SportsGamer collects from the community going to the Salutskijs somehow, despite your financial breakdown in the official update? Have the Salutskijs contributed to the finances of SportsGamer at any point? https://pureevents.fi/ota-yhteytta/ I also found this, a company called Pure Events. Perhaps formerly known as Reactio Media? The contact page includes the Salutskijs and some people who are much more familiar to us here on SportsGamer. So, my attempted sleuthing is all over the place, as you can see. I'm just confused about the big picture. I am not leveling any accusations. I just want information. What's going on behind the scenes?

The prize pool for the Spring season alone was €24,000, yet you only accounted for a 10% tax (licenses) on the entire season. With 1,000 active players, that results in a total tax liability of around €4,000 for both Winter and Spring seasons combined. The financial and tax issues — particularly the VAT misclassification — appear to stem from internal handling and decisions made at the organizational level. It’s difficult to accept that players are now being asked to absorb the consequences of those missteps, especially when many have paid license fees in good faith, expecting timely prize payments and professional management. While I respect the effort to stabilize the organization, I believe it’s important to emphasize this: tax handling errors and financial planning shortfalls are not the responsibility of the players. They fall on the company and its leadership.

https://www.finanssivalvonta.fi/

Propably the most important thing is that you pay all the missing prize money to the players who deserve them before you start begging for more license payments. Or is the business model to pay last season's prize money from next season's license fees? If so, seems to be working great 😃

I say if it looks like a scam, sounds like a scam and smells like a scam it usually is a scam 🤣

Mayby you ask chat gbt what to do

Let’s be honest. This isn’t transparency. It’s damage control. SportsGamer has been struggling for years, and it’s not because of Twitch or sponsorships. It’s because of poor management and a lack of honesty. You’ve been collecting license fees from players season after season, while prize payments have been delayed or disappeared altogether. That’s not bad luck. That’s bad leadership. You say that 20% of the money goes to taxes, 50% to prizes, and 30% to operations. If that’s true, then prize pools should already be secured before the tournaments even begin. Instead, it’s obvious that player license fees are being used to pay your ongoing expenses. That means players have been funding your operations, not their own prize pools. And now you talk about seeking external funding to pay off prize money that’s already overdue. No legitimate company does that. If the money was handled properly, there would be no need for investors to cover the gap. It’s clear that the funds have been mismanaged. Then comes the part where you ask the community whether we’d still play if the prize pools were reduced. That’s not a survey. That’s a way to soften the blow before you announce that the money is gone. It’s an attempt to make players feel responsible for your mistakes! At this point, SportsGamer is no longer running as a community platform. It’s running like a pyramid scheme. New license fees pay old debts, management keeps their salary, and when the structure starts collapsing, you try to shift the blame onto the players. This isn’t about delays anymore. It’s about trust and integrity. You built this scene on passion, volunteer work, and player effort. You’ve now used that trust to keep a sinking ship afloat. If you truly care about this community, then prove it. Publish the numbers. Show exactly where the money went. Let the players see what’s real. Until that happens, no team, player, or sponsor should continue supporting SportsGamer. You don’t fix broken trust with surveys or nice words. You fix it by paying what you owe and telling the truth. To the SportsGamer leadership Your statement doesn’t fix the problem, it confirms it. You’ve collected license fees season after season, promised prize pools that were never secured, and now admit to needing external funding to pay players what they’re owed. The community deserves accountability, not vague apologies and PR language. If SportsGamer truly values “transparency,” then publish the books. Show where the license money went. Show the debt. Show the shareholders. Until that happens, no player, sponsor, or organization should continue funding this structure. You don’t get to “survey your way out of accountability.” Pay the winners. Publish the numbers. Or shut it down. // A long-time EHL/ECL player who’s done watching you exploit this community.

Dear players, We just sent this by email to all ECL ’25 players, but wanted to share it here as well so everyone can see the full update. Our Journey and the Current Challenge Over the past decade, the ECL and the SportsGamer community have grown from a small group of passionate players into one of the world’s leading competitive NHL communities. We’ve shared unforgettable seasons, built friendships across borders, and created something truly special together. Today, we need to talk openly about challenges that now threaten the sustainability of that work — and what we can do together to secure its future. SportsGamer’s leadership team recently met to address the company’s financial situation and ongoing cash-flow challenges. While day-to-day operations are managed internally by Kenneth Lehtinen, financial and strategic decisions are made collectively by the company’s shareholders. What’s Affecting SportsGamer and the ECL Over the past three years, SportsGamer has faced a difficult operating environment, and unfortunately, our business has not been profitable. The overall cost of running events and maintaining operations has increased, while revenue opportunities — particularly sponsorships and streaming support — have decreased. One of the main challenges to the profitability of the ECL has been a tax ruling regarding the VAT rate applied to player licenses. VAT, or value-added tax, is a government sales tax added on top of the license fee that we are required to collect and pay to the Finnish Tax Administration. For several years, player licenses were invoiced at a 10% VAT rate, based on earlier guidance from the Finnish Tax Administration. Following a later decision that reclassified the licenses under a higher rate, SportsGamer has been required to apply 24–25.5% VAT, which has significantly increased our costs and placed a heavy strain on our finances. In practice, this means that of the total amount paid for licenses, roughly 20% goes to taxes, about 50% to prize payments, and around 30% to operational costs. In addition, a weakened market and the continued difficulty of securing sponsorships have further contributed to the situation. The streaming landscape has also changed significantly. Our long-standing cooperation with Twitch, which previously provided strong support for the ECL broadcasts, has shifted in recent years. Overall viewership across NHL content has also declined. These changes have made it more challenging to attract partners around our broadcasts, and we are now exploring alternative ways to deliver value for potential sponsors and the community alike. What We’re Doing About It Despite these challenges, the leadership team has decided to continue operations, with the goal of bringing all financial obligations up to date — including the delayed ECL prize payments. Several cost-saving measures and internal restructurings have already been implemented, which have unfortunately affected the resources available. These measures include ending COO Kenneth Lehtinen’s employment. Since then, he has continued to support operations voluntarily. No payments have been made to him since December 2024, and the company’s other shareholders have not received any salaries or compensation at any point during SportsGamer’s operations. We recognize the frustration that delays can cause, and we believe that open communication about our situation is the most responsible path forward. We are personally reaching out to all parties with pending payments to provide updates and agree on next steps. The company is also seeking external funding to help stabilize operations and ensure continuity. How You Can Help Shape the Future To ensure the long-term sustainability of both SportsGamer and the ECL, we must explore all possible savings. The most significant immediate potential adjustment lies in the size of future prize pools. We kindly ask you to share your thoughts by completing the short survey below. In particular, we want to know whether you would continue to participate in the ECL if license fees remain the same but prize pools are reduced for the 2026 seasons, as well as which elements of the ECL you value the most. 👉 [Click here to access the survey] We’ll begin reviewing the feedback after 5 days of submissions, so we encourage you to share your thoughts by then if possible. Your feedback will play a crucial role in shaping the future of the ECL and determining whether it can continue to operate in its current form. We also welcome members of the community who wish to contribute their time or skills toward supporting future seasons. If you’re interested in volunteering, please reach out to us — every bit of help can make a difference as we work to stabilize and strengthen the ECL for the future. Thank you for your understanding, honesty, and continued support. Sincerely, SportsGamer Leadership Team

The problem here is that there are still players in ECL Elite who keep buying into all the bullshit behind this. Through my teammates, I posted a detailed calculation showing how many hundreds of thousands of euros Sportsgamer pulls in every year. Yet there were still well-known players from top teams who genuinely believed that a Twitch broadcast costs around 1,500 euros. 😅 And somehow, that was considered a reasonable explanation for where all the money went. At that point, I honestly considered quitting my job, giving up the 70,000 euros I make each year, and becoming a professional caster here on Sportsgamer if this delusion were actually true. No, Sportsgamer. You know exactly what I think about this, and both you and I know that you have tried to silence me before. But enough is enough. If this continues, it might be time for someone to bring the international financial authorities into this company.

The best solution would certainly be to have explanations for the delay. I can understand that there are money problems; times are tough in Europe. The problem with sponsors, license fees, and registration fees is: where does the money go? Because the money is paid and sent almost immediately. So why, when the tournaments are over, don't we receive the money as quickly? This lack of professionalism, where players have 2-3 ECLs without having received their winnings, must be highlighted. I am asking for two things: 1/ That all players licenses become free for the next two ECLs. 2/ that team registrations in the different categories must be divided by 2. the prize pool will be smaller. But we are still talking about NHL... a game that is not very well known to the public and has very few players. We are not FIFA or Fortnite. Afterwards, we could perhaps find additional sponsors and maybe sell part of the league to an investment fund, which would help financially. Spending between €400 and €600 to not see it again for two seasons, or probably ever again, bothers me a little, to be honest.

Maybe just free touraments next time and no prizepool’s, figure out how to get money to everyone from last touraments.

Although, personally I am not one of those who are waiting their prize money but I am still - as a member of this community and participated in tournaments previously and considering participating in future - interested what is going on with this matter. I would like to see public statement on the reasons of this to show public visibility on explaining what has happened and why those prize money have not been paid to these players who are entitled to recieving them. Like the original post mentioned: "The continued silence or vague communication on this matter damages trust across the community and sets a dangerous precedent for future events. This situation demands accountability." and also " Prize pool payments are not a courtesy — they are contractual obligations.". Although, I am not now and propably in future one that is recieving any prize money from competitions, I am also interested to see the statement what has happened. My future participations are dependable on how visible this operation is here and how these things are handled. I also expect public update as a member of this community. Silence is worse than telling the truth what really has happened.

Supernatural (lite) Looking for starting LD Contact me here or by psn: Kozeec

Sopranos (LITE) Looking for a LD or C. contact me here or discord, thank you.

RD/LD Looking for Neo-level club for next ecl-season. I've played 27 games in neo with 0+23 points. I can play for finnish and international clubs. PSN: ELJI11 DC: sheikki_ali_hassan

Up

Free LD for the upcoming tournaments. I'm looking for a team that strives to develop their game together and on an individual level. Prefer Finnish team. Core/Lite Don't hesitate to contact me about try-outs. See you on the ice🤝🏽 Discord: Zysbe

Here we go again.. I have had a rough start with choosing the wrong team in this game. But after some good goalkeeping coaching from my man Brainrovsky, I think it’s time for me to play goalie. Motivated Swede 32years old, speaking good sweinglish and really love to play this game. I can play 6 days a week cause I always working one night. Looking for a team to fight for the first position as G. My Discord is kabbe1992. Cheers

VESUVIUS ACADEMY (Our second team) looking for RW/RD or who knows how to play C for Pro-Qualifer. Write me in private message thx.

Purification looking for start G We're looking for a starting goalkeeper for the upcoming PRO qualifiers. Our goal is to be a top team in PRO next season, and we're building a competitive roster to make that happen. If you're interested, feel free to DM "LaxenHD" or Discord or send a message here on SportsGamer. If I don’t respond, you can also DM "Veronneau_" on Discord.

Purification are back! IN: @LaxenHD "C" from Afterlife @Root_1919 "A" from Vnexs @davve78 "A" from Missclick @vilppijoona from Freeagent @Ttv_ahnbergs99 from Vnexs Welcome Boys!

Kenu I have been 3 months without food… please give us our money🥺😔