Show me the money!

[imosi]

Thank you Sportsgamer for the update, as promised.
 

Excellent post by @Grizzly17

Most of the questions were addressed, but on the other hand, many still remain unanswered.

It’s great news that you’re working to fix the debts. You’re also asking the community your paying “customers”  to have patience and understanding, which is fair enough. However, as a community, we also expect more concrete answers in return.

What I’m asking for is that Sportsgamer be as open and honest as possible about the situation.

 

If you want the community’s help, then please give us more concrete answers:

1. Where did the prize pool money from the winter and spring events ultimately go, if there wasn’t enough left to pay the players and teams?
    
2. Why did it take so long for Sportsgamer to acknowledge these problems, given that they’ve clearly been ongoing for some time?
    
3. Would Sportsgamer have publicly admitted to this difficult situation if the community hadn’t started asking these questions?
    
4. Will Sportsgamer take responsibility for paying the debts owed to @iRSPe's company?
    

This is a great start but it’s not enough!

Do not underestimate the community; we’re not stupid.

[Tehh]

15 minutes ago, imosi said:

Thank you Sportsgamer for the update, as promised.
 

Excellent post by @Grizzly17

Most of the questions were addressed, but on the other hand, many still remain unanswered.

It’s great news that you’re working to fix the debts. You’re also asking the community your paying “customers”  to have patience and understanding, which is fair enough. However, as a community, we also expect more concrete answers in return.

What I’m asking for is that Sportsgamer be as open and honest as possible about the situation.

 

If you want the community’s help, then please give us more concrete answers:

1. Where did the prize pool money from the winter and spring events ultimately go, if there wasn’t enough left to pay the players and teams?
    
2. Why did it take so long for Sportsgamer to acknowledge these problems, given that they’ve clearly been ongoing for some time?
    
3. Would Sportsgamer have publicly admitted to this difficult situation if the community hadn’t started asking these questions?
    
4. Will Sportsgamer take responsibility for paying the debts owed to @iRSPe's company?
    

This is a great start but it’s not enough!

Do not underestimate the community; we’re not stupid.

🧠 Balanced & Clever (diplomatic with bte):

Well said — sounds like the community’s asking for transparency, not a magic trick. Let’s just hope “fixing the debts” doesn’t turn into “debts being fixed in post.”

---

🔥 Witty with a hint of sarcasm:

Asking for transparency shouldn’t feel like trying to unlock a secret level, but here we are. Hopefully the next update comes with patch notes and answers.

---

🎯 Short and sharp:

Translation: “We appreciate the effort, but where’s the money, Lebowski?”

---

😏 Dry humor approach:

Glad to hear the debts are being fixed — now if only answers were part of the repair package.

---

💬 Calm but cutting:

The community’s not asking for miracles, just math that adds up.

[localhefe]

1 tunti sitten, Janikka kirjoitti:

However, I believe saving money on this type of content (broadcasts, articles, whatever it is) and just focusing on the core platform would make the whole operation more sustainable.

SG or @OGjahajaha can prove me wrong, but i believe nobody was ever paid for articles(?). i got one free player license after asking for it, you could consider that a payment, but its like 10€. 

even tho some people think broadcast costs are close to 1.5k € per stream, they might be actually be close to free as well. @bMaJuH could probably give some info -- did you receive any payments for being a commentator? i dont really know what else could be the largest expense besides the actual commentator for a free Twitch stream. 

LAN expenses have to be the most expensive thing, and they could be skipped without much impact. 

[iSvamp]

3 timmar sedan, SportsGamer säger:

SportsGamer Update – Current Situation and Next Steps

Dear community,

As previously communicated, SportsGamer has faced significant financial challenges over the past few years.

Despite these difficulties, we remain committed to meeting our obligations to our players, contributors, and the wider community — and to ensuring the ECL’s continued future.

Prize Payment Plan

We have established a payment plan to settle the delayed ECL ’25: Winter and ECL ’25: Spring prize payouts in four installments:

• October 30: 50% of ECL ’25: Winter prizes
• November 14: remaining 50% of ECL ’25: Winter prizes
• December 15: 50% of ECL ’25: Spring prizes
• December 30: remaining 50% of ECL ’25: Spring prizes

The first installment will be processed at the end of October, and we are committed to following this schedule in full.

Players and teams with pending payments are being contacted directly to confirm details. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as we complete this process in full transparency.

We are also in contact with our long-time contributors and partners to address outstanding matters and keep everyone who has supported SportsGamer’s operations informed.

For any ECL ‘25: Spring winners wondering: It is possible to use your prize money to purchase an ECL ‘26: Winter license already in November, even if the payments are scheduled to take place in December.

 

ECL ’26 Season Schedule and Pre-Season Tournament

Next week, we will announce the ECL ’26: Winter season schedule and open registration.

However, license fee collection will not begin until after November 16.

Before the new season officially begins, we will also host a free ECL Pre-Season tournament, open to all players and teams.

The goal is to give everyone the opportunity to play, reconnect with the community, and enjoy competitive games without any entry fees.

Prize Pool Structure and Transparency

For the ECL ’26 Winter season, at least 35% of net license-fee income (after VAT and transaction fees) will be paid out as prize money.
The remaining funds will cover operational and production costs and support the continued stabilization of our operations.

The initial prize pool estimate will be published before the start of the season, based on confirmed registrations at that time.
If additional licenses are purchased during the season, the final prize pool will be adjusted accordingly and disclosed once all registrations are complete.

For players with full-year licenses, their contribution will be divided evenly between the Winter and Spring seasons.

To maintain transparency, we will share the total net license income with the community after each season.

Addressing Community Concerns

• SportsGamer operates in full compliance with Finnish corporate law.
   
• The 2023 financial statement has been completed and will be officially filed once the review and approval process is finalized, while the 2024 financial statement is currently being prepared.
   
• Accounting and auditing are managed by an independent accounting firm and a certified auditor.
   
• No shareholder has taken any profit or withdrawal from the company at any point. Kenneth Lehtinen received a salary for his operational work until December 2024.
   
• The company has operated at a loss throughout its history, funded by shareholder investments.
   
• The company is also pursuing opportunities to strengthen its financial position and secure the long-term future of the ECL.

Summary

Our goal is to rebuild trust through concrete actions.

SportsGamer was founded on passion and community spirit, and we want to ensure that future ECL seasons continue delivering a high-quality and sustainable competitive experience for all players.

Thank you to everyone who has continued to engage with us and share constructive feedback as we work to move forward together.


– SportsGamer Leadership Team

This is not rebuilding trust. It is delaying responsibility.

You are now asking the community to accept a payment plan for money that should have been paid out months ago. That is not transparency, that is a desperate attempt to stay alive. No legitimate organization needs three months and four installments to pay what players already earned.

Telling players that they can use their prize money to buy an ECL 26 license is not a solution. It is proof that you are using new seasons to fund old debts. That is not a community project. That is a broken financial cycle that only works as long as people keep paying in.

You also lowered the prize share from 50 percent to 35 percent of the license income. That is not honesty, it is confirmation that the situation is worse than you admit. And calculating it after VAT and transaction fees makes the real number even smaller. Players get less and less every year while the costs keep going up.

You keep talking about compliance with Finnish law, but nobody ever said this was illegal. The problem is not legality. The problem is trust. You promised guaranteed prize pools, and the money is missing. That is what the community wants to know. Where did all those thousands of euros disappear? That is what people are asking for — a straight answer.

Have you also made a payment plan with iRSPe that his company has accepted? Or is that something you simply plan to ignore too?

You do not rebuild trust with long messages or future promises. You rebuild it by paying what you owe and by showing where the money went. Until that happens, no serious team, player or sponsor should continue supporting SportsGamer.

For years this community gave you their time, effort and trust. You spent all of it. Now it is time to stop talking and start proving.

[Edgard_gcn]

I think SG has already given one or several quite important answers… The way of paying in 4 installments makes sense, just like with many companies that are going through a difficult time.

I think that everything you wanted to introduce with other player formats and all the live commentaries should probably be stopped… I believe I understand that it’s costing you money, and if that’s the case, those are unnecessary losses for a hockey platform that already has limited visibility — even more so for eSports, unfortunately.

It’s the small details that make a big difference. If you refund and share a bit more information about where you’ve had major losses, we’ll understand much better… but let’s go back to the NHLGamer days, the time when things were simpler. Let’s return to the good old days without trying to do “always more.” We won’t make a living from NHL anyway.

We hope everything will be resolved soon!! 🙏 

[Yoloberg]

My goodness… what a staggering and distressing revelation this has become.

I find myself utterly confounded — not merely disappointed, but genuinely astonished — by the magnitude of financial mismanagement that appears to have unfolded beneath our collective noses. One can only wonder how an enterprise that once stood as the proud cornerstone of our competitive scene has managed to descend into this state of disarray.

The central question, I fear, remains unanswered: where did the money go?

We are told of prize pools, of seasons completed and champions crowned — yet the victors, the very lifeblood of this community, remain unpaid. Funds that were explicitly designated for rewards seem to have evaporated into the ether. I must confess that this defies not only reason but also the basic tenets of trust and stewardship that should govern any respectable organization.

And now, we are asked to display patience. We are told that this is part of some “restructuring,” that repayment will come in installments, and that future seasons will somehow balance the books of the past. With all due respect, that is not a financial strategy — it is a revolving door of obligation, a precarious cycle wherein new participants unknowingly fund the debts of old. In my part of the world, we might call it a house of cards dressed as an institution.

If transparency truly exists, then let it be demonstrated — not through eloquent reassurances or vague allusions to Finnish law, but through a clear, unambiguous breakdown:

• How were the funds from Winter and Spring allocated?

• To whom, and for what purposes, were these community-generated revenues dispersed?

• How much of the collected license income remains, and how much has been siphoned into operations that have yielded no tangible benefit to the players themselves?

I say this not with hostility but with genuine sorrow. Many of us have supported this platform for years, not out of obligation, but out of respect — for Kenu, for the staff, and for what Sportsgamer once represented. Yet the current silence on financial specifics speaks louder than any apology ever could.

Trust, once fractured, cannot be repaired by poetic statements or hopeful projections. It is rebuilt only through truth, accountability, and action. Until the missing figures are laid bare and the debts are paid, the integrity of this entire project hangs by a thread.

In all sincerity, I hope this is the moment when words give way to deeds — for if not now, I fear there will soon be nothing left to save.

[lycki10]

22 minutes ago, iSvamp said:

This is not rebuilding trust. It is delaying responsibility.

You are now asking the community to accept a payment plan for money that should have been paid out months ago. That is not transparency, that is a desperate attempt to stay alive. No legitimate organization needs three months and four installments to pay what players already earned.

Telling players that they can use their prize money to buy an ECL 26 license is not a solution. It is proof that you are using new seasons to fund old debts. That is not a community project. That is a broken financial cycle that only works as long as people keep paying in.

You also lowered the prize share from 50 percent to 35 percent of the license income. That is not honesty, it is confirmation that the situation is worse than you admit. And calculating it after VAT and transaction fees makes the real number even smaller. Players get less and less every year while the costs keep going up.

You keep talking about compliance with Finnish law, but nobody ever said this was illegal. The problem is not legality. The problem is trust. You promised guaranteed prize pools, and the money is missing. That is what the community wants to know. Where did all those thousands of euros disappear? That is what people are asking for — a straight answer.

Have you also made a payment plan with iRSPe that his company has accepted? Or is that something you simply plan to ignore too?

You do not rebuild trust with long messages or future promises. You rebuild it by paying what you owe and by showing where the money went. Until that happens, no serious team, player or sponsor should continue supporting SportsGamer.

For years this community gave you their time, effort and trust. You spent all of it. Now it is time to stop talking and start proving.

"For years this community gave you their time, effort and trust. You spent all of it. Now it is time to stop talking and start proving"

What do you mean "they spent all of it?"

I have received my prize money before from sportsgamer and i'll receive it again on the date that they posted (maybe you missed it in their post), so im not sure what you're yapping about.

[iSvamp]

5 minuter sedan, Yoloberg säger:

My goodness… what a staggering and distressing revelation this has become.

I find myself utterly confounded — not merely disappointed, but genuinely astonished — by the magnitude of financial mismanagement that appears to have unfolded beneath our collective noses. One can only wonder how an enterprise that once stood as the proud cornerstone of our competitive scene has managed to descend into this state of disarray.

The central question, I fear, remains unanswered: where did the money go?

We are told of prize pools, of seasons completed and champions crowned — yet the victors, the very lifeblood of this community, remain unpaid. Funds that were explicitly designated for rewards seem to have evaporated into the ether. I must confess that this defies not only reason but also the basic tenets of trust and stewardship that should govern any respectable organization.

And now, we are asked to display patience. We are told that this is part of some “restructuring,” that repayment will come in installments, and that future seasons will somehow balance the books of the past. With all due respect, that is not a financial strategy — it is a revolving door of obligation, a precarious cycle wherein new participants unknowingly fund the debts of old. In my part of the world, we might call it a house of cards dressed as an institution.

If transparency truly exists, then let it be demonstrated — not through eloquent reassurances or vague allusions to Finnish law, but through a clear, unambiguous breakdown:

• How were the funds from Winter and Spring allocated?

• To whom, and for what purposes, were these community-generated revenues dispersed?

• How much of the collected license income remains, and how much has been siphoned into operations that have yielded no tangible benefit to the players themselves?

I say this not with hostility but with genuine sorrow. Many of us have supported this platform for years, not out of obligation, but out of respect — for Kenu, for the staff, and for what Sportsgamer once represented. Yet the current silence on financial specifics speaks louder than any apology ever could.

Trust, once fractured, cannot be repaired by poetic statements or hopeful projections. It is rebuilt only through truth, accountability, and action. Until the missing figures are laid bare and the debts are paid, the integrity of this entire project hangs by a thread.

In all sincerity, I hope this is the moment when words give way to deeds — for if not now, I fear there will soon be nothing left to save.

Watch out for the Flyerkungens army. He’s standing in the burning house and thinks it feels good. 🤑

2 minuter sedan, lycki10 säger:

"For years this community gave you their time, effort and trust. You spent all of it. Now it is time to stop talking and start proving"

What do you mean "they spent all of it?"

I have received my prize money before from sportsgamer and i'll receive it again on the date that they posted (maybe you missed it in their post), so im not sure what you're yapping about.

I’ve received my prize money before too, that’s not the point.
If you actually read their statement, you’d see they are months behind on multiple payouts and are now setting up installments just to pay what’s already owed.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that something is seriously wrong when a company has to create a four-part payment plan for prize money that should’ve been paid long ago.

So the real question is
-what exactly are you yapping about?

[l-Furyan-l]

This thread could double as a Turing test.

[ReDMisTi]

Im not even playing anymore but LET'S GO @FlyerKungen ARMY CMOON!! 

[Borjendahlen]

I stand with @FlyerKungen's #BurningHouseArmy 🔥🏠

[Tehh]

13 minutes ago, l-Furyan-l said:

This thread could double as a Turing test.

No idea what you're referring to.

[Edgard_gcn]

SAUDI join @FlyerKungen army 🪖 

Edited 40 minutes ago by Edgard_gcn

[Edgard_gcn]

Il y a 19 minutes, ReDMisTi a dit :

Je ne joue même plus, mais ALLONS-Y@FlyerKungenARMÉE CMOON !!

Maybe come back ? 😂

[lycki10]

32 minutes ago, iSvamp said:

Watch out for the Flyerkungens army. He’s standing in the burning house and thinks it feels good. 🤑

I’ve received my prize money before too, that’s not the point.
If you actually read their statement, you’d see they are months behind on multiple payouts and are now setting up installments just to pay what’s already owed.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that something is seriously wrong when a company has to create a four-part payment plan for prize money that should’ve been paid long ago.

So the real question is
-what exactly are you yapping about?

Its obvious, you are trying and wanting to be part of the new league so you're just seeking for problems here. Now when they promized to pay their debts and published dates when their paying, suddenly paying in installmenta is a real issue now also.

[Brainrovsky]

I stand with my goat @FlyerKungen

i like my toes getting slightly burnt anyway 

[iSvamp]

7 minuter sedan, lycki10 säger:

Its obvious, you are trying and wanting to be part of the new league so you're just seeking for problems here. Now when they promized to pay their debts and published dates when their paying, suddenly paying in installmenta is a real issue now also.

No, I don’t care where players choose to play. But I’m not naive enough to ignore the problems that clearly exist.

The main question is still unanswered: where did the money go?

My “agenda” is simply that players have been lied to, which they obviously have.

But by all means, keep insinuating what my purpose is. What’s yours then? Protecting your friends?

[localhefe]

1 tunti sitten, localhefe kirjoitti:

SG or @OGjahajaha can prove me wrong, but i believe nobody was ever paid for articles(?). i got one free player license after asking for it, you could consider that a payment, but its like 10€. 

even tho some people think broadcast costs are close to 1.5k € per stream, they might be actually be close to free as well. @bMaJuH could probably give some info -- did you receive any payments for being a commentator? i dont really know what else could be the largest expense besides the actual commentator for a free Twitch stream. 

LAN expenses have to be the most expensive thing, and they could be skipped without much impact. 

as you can see, many people don’t even understand where SG’s money has actually gone. they think costs can just be cut here and there, but most of the day to day operations are already done for free and voluntarily.

i hope people use common sense discussing this. SG has monthly expenses: office rent, accounting fees, TYEL and YEL contributions, internet and electricity. on top of this, unnecessary costs like penalties(*) can add up suprisingly quickly. 

SG, according to them, actually lost a significant amount of money when they assumed and applied a 10% VAT rate to license fees — but the tax authority later said that was incorrect, and that they must use 24% (now 25.5%). 

 

4 tuntia sitten, SportsGamer kirjoitti:

Addressing Community Concerns

• SportsGamer operates in full compliance with Finnish corporate law.
   
• The 2023 financial statement has been completed and will be officially filed once the review and approval process is finalized, while the 2024 financial statement is currently being prepared.

Summary

Our goal is to rebuild trust through concrete actions.
 

i don’t want to speculate too much on whether SG has had to make retroactive payments for VAT increase, since I’m not an economist. however, as JakkePlay77 mentioned earlier, it’s concerning that we don’t have any public financial statements for 2023 or 2024. this raises major questions about the company’s profitability and sustainability since it is already 2025 Q4 without public data from 2023 .

(*)from what I understand, they received a 1,200 € penalty from the tax authority for the missing public financial statements 6.10.2025 -> couple of days later they announce ECL will be played. ok.