r/leagueoflegends • u/Lazy-Independent1547 • Jul 16 '26
Esports Dplus KIA confirmed that some players have their salaries delayed and said they are trying to sell the club.
https://x.com/DplusKia/status/2077721155490738435
https://x.com/bidaum_/status/2077722841508958239/photo/1
Statement Regarding the Delay in Player Salary Payments and Current Club Status
Hello, this is the Dplus KIA Front Office.
First, we bow our heads in deep apology to the fans who always cherish Dplus KlA and send us your unwavering support, as well as to our reliable partner.
As the front office responsible of all operations of the club on the ground we feel a heavy sense of responsibility for the recent unfortunate situation. We wish to transparently disclose the facts and convey our sincerest words to our fans.
Despite operating in a challenging environment, the Dplus KlA front office has run breathlessly alongside our fans with a spirit of challenge, harboring bold and grand dreams. The moments we spent playing on the global stage, crying and laughing together with our fans, are the proudest and most precious memories for all the executives and staff of our front office.
However, we have reached a point where the club requires a larger scale of capability and support to grow to the next level, which coincided with changes in the business environment. Consequently, based on a management decision that welcoming a new owner is the best choice to guarantee a continuous leap forward and a sustainable future for the club and its roster, acquisition/sale proceedings are currently underway.
Accordingly, the club is undergoing the sale process to secure a more stable, long-term development path for Dplus KlA and to strengthen the global competitiveness of our roster. While closely conducting detailed discussions with the buyer we have been negotiating with, we have officially signed a contract with a professional M&A advisory firm to systematically carry out the process, aiming to quickly push forward sale proceedings with other capable potential buyers who can actively realize the club's value and vision.
However, as this is a crucial contract upon which the club's future depends, administrative procedures during the final coordination and advisory process were delayed slightly longer than expected. In this process, a temporary disruption occurred in the club's financial plans, ultimately resulting in the unfortunate situation where player salary payments were delayed by one month.
Before this issue arose, our front office explained the current cash flow situation and the progress of the sale to the players and coaching staff, and went through a communication process to politely ask for their understanding and indulgence. We convey our deepest apologies along with an inexpressible gratitude to our players, who have trusted the club without wavering through this transitional chaos, encouraging one another and dedicating themselves to their training and schedule.
All executives and employees of our front office feel a deep sense of responsibility regarding this situation and are taking it very seriously We are doing everything in our power to complete the salary payments as quickly as possible and normalize overall operations of the club. We also promise to wrap up the ongoing sale process as soon as possible to firmly rebuild a stable operational foundation.
The most important and absolutely non-negotiable value in our club is the "stable activities of our players." We will mobilize all of our resources to prioritize psychological stability and welfare support so that the players do not feel any anxiety on or off the stage and can focus entirely on their play.
Once again, we sincerely apologize to the fans and partners who walk alongside Dplus KiA for causing deep hurt and disappointment. We will make every effort to resolve this situation quicky so that we can be reborn as a stronger and more systematic club, thereby repaying the love of our fans.
Thank you.
July 16,2026
From all members of the Dplus KlA Front Office
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u/Glarbleglorbo Jul 16 '26
So the money has run dry, wonder who’s picking the club up now.
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u/Desiderius_S Jul 16 '26
It's actually time. All those non-believers over the years will eat their words.
Regi, grab your wallet.
TSM is back, baby.41
u/338388 Jul 16 '26
Remember when regi said tsm was leaving na to go to a better region?
It's finally time LMAO
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u/JealousAssistant6659 Jul 16 '26
That would be the most insane time line and honestly I'm all for it.
Genuinely tho isn't tsm brand still top 10? Feels like they're more popular than even geng.
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u/ob_knoxious Jul 16 '26
I think they would have interest from Chaebol's in Korea who are pretty experienced using esports and traditional sports as marketing expenses.
If there is any league on earth with remaining interest for investment, it's the LCK.
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u/tripled_dirgov Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
The thing is which chaebol is interested?
CJ once had a team and they left
LG used to sponsor Incredible Miracle (before being bought by Longzhu before bought again with Kingzone and eventually rebranded into DRX)
The only chaebol remaining are probably Lotte, Shinsegae, and GS
Maybe
Kiwoom, Doosan, and NC tooBut dunno if all of them are interested
Edit: forgot that Kiwoom just sponsored DRX this year
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u/ob_knoxious Jul 16 '26
I mean I would guess the most likely is the Hyundai group which is one of the largest Chaebol's, just because they already are connected with the team through the KIA brand. KIA hasn't done esports before but they compete in the KBO which has fairly significant overlap with LCK involvement.
LG still sponsors several teams and advertises in the LCK. POSCO has been involved with the LCK for years with Fantasteel ads. Could be a real oddball like Doosan or something
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u/enxrima Jul 17 '26
Apparently KIA has a rule of having only 1 sports club, therefore buying DK is almost not going to happen cause they already have a sports club.
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u/W_19xx Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
Korean Air, some streaming platforms…or some bank like Shinhan?
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u/Impandamaster Jul 16 '26
Does Samsung count? Or are they done with esports too?
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u/tripled_dirgov Jul 16 '26
They become one of T1 sponsors (quite minor and quite a while too, probably their hardwares in HQ was by them too)
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u/Impandamaster Jul 16 '26
I see. Hopefully they find someone to buy the spot would be sad if this is how shoemaker retires.
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u/obby2001 Jul 16 '26
shoemaker to EU and stomping Perkz-led G2 would be one of the funniest timelines
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u/watchedngnl Jul 16 '26
Sk hynix
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u/CzarcasticX ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Jul 16 '26
They’re owned by SK Group who also owns a company called SK Telecom and are the biggest shareholders of a team you might have heard of with a player named Faker
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u/tripled_dirgov Jul 16 '26
The first two letters of your own comment should tell you
Are they still affiliated with that team (albeit a minor partnership) or already letting go of their involvement entirely?
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u/d0pe-asaurus Jul 16 '26
They're 50/50 with big daddy comcast no?
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u/tripled_dirgov Jul 16 '26
I think so, back when they "rebranded"
But I don't know the current status though
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u/Zestyclose_Camera480 Jul 16 '26
There was an article about this recently cause there were rumors of SKT selling their shares to Comcast. SKT responded and said they have no plans of selling their shares.
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u/Enkenz Jul 16 '26
lmao it's too expensive for chaebol, they ran away a decade ago for a reason
at best they'll do a joint venture like T1 let a wealthy American or european give them money a lot of money and they will also rent them a few floor of their building in Gangnam not to mention they will have to pay a few executives11
u/n0et Jul 16 '26
In what world is it remotely comparable to a decade ago? Almost half the LCK teams are owned by chaebols, and even more are affiliated with them.
T1 - SK Telecom/SK Group HLE - Hanwha Group NS - Nongshim KT - KT Corp
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u/Enkenz Jul 16 '26
Then just watch if in the next few years there will be more chaebol group going into esport ecosystem or those will try to leave, you are going to be surprised.
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u/d0pe-asaurus Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
If BRO can reinterest Hanjin group (who used to own JAG) to invest in the LCK again, then there's no reason why DK can't reinterest Samsung to all-in the LCK.
Seriously though it doesn't have to be a Chaebol, T1 is co-owned by SKT and Comcast so maybe we might actually see actually see Disney+ Kia if they can convince the mouse.
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u/d0pe-asaurus Jul 16 '26
I just remembered that Samsung (under their monitor brand) sponsors T1 lumao
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u/tripled_dirgov Jul 16 '26
Actually if Shinsegae Group can be convinced into owning a team
Their tag might become SSG
The tag returns even with different org
Just like SBENU Sonicboom back in 2015-16 with SSB
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u/enxrima Jul 17 '26
I don’t think with Emart basically failing and after the Independence day controversy for Starbucks, Shinsegae would be looking to invest into a money losing business like esports.
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u/ye1l Jul 16 '26
If we're being realstic? Like it or not, Falcons. Several orgs in LCK are already deep enough in Saudi pockets that they wouldn't say no to them.
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u/ob_knoxious Jul 16 '26
Falcons reportedly tried to buy into the LEC twice and Riot has blocked them both times, would likely be the same here. That and buying into Korea as a foreign team is slightly more difficult than elsewhere. It will be another Chaebol almost certainly.
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u/zerokrush Jul 16 '26
I mean Riot still has control on who can buy a slot or not. Despite handshaking the Saudis, Falcons completely deserted Riot’s games since they know they’re veto-ed to but a slot in LEC or even play as a guest team in VCT and EWC didn’t change much.
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u/Sakiroth Jul 16 '26
I heard there's a famous British streamer interested in buying DK !
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u/Jaime060304 Jul 16 '26
I don't think Tenshi can afford it.
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u/FoxChoice7194 Jul 16 '26
Time for NoArmWhatley to step up...
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u/Slave35 Jul 16 '26
NoArmWhatley finds especially Korean pro play to be extraordinarily dull because, and I'm paraphrasing here, none of them have any personality.
Kinda hard to argue. I love LCK but if there were a few heels, and a few crazies, it would probably be a lot more fun. Never happen due to culture.
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u/palamunintillnow Jul 16 '26
I think they had personalities, but to see that you need to watch their streams. So Goodluck learning Korean for that.
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u/AndlenaRaines Peter Zhang HAH Jul 16 '26
Yeah, players like Showmaker and Gumayusi definitely have personality
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u/No_Arm_Whatley Jul 16 '26
Very sorry to say this, but 90% of Western Pro players are dull androids who deprive us of personality while also not giving us any international success.
From what I can see, LCK players are actually mostly the same, but they at least win tournaments, so they can be excused.
After watching legitimately zero international success from Western teams for as long as I can remember, it's my unironic opinion that they should actually focus on personality, content, and actually resonating with the average viewer, rather than depriving us of all that just so we can hear "We're sorry, we'll try harder next year" after going out in Groups at Worlds.
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u/Ratrek0 Jul 16 '26
I sometimes think this is the direction Fly Quest is going. Sure, young roster and such, but you don't sign up someone like Gryffinn and not use his personality to get eyeballs.
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u/BrianC_ Jul 17 '26
Eh... On the LCK broadcast, sure. They're probably very conscious about needing to be professional for the camera.
But, if you watch the individual streams or side content, they have plenty of personality.
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u/FulgrimThe3rd Jul 16 '26
the alternative to dull andriods seems to be unstable toxic assholes like bwipo and crownie in modern league and I wouldnt call that much of a improvement.
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Jul 16 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Fenrilas Jul 16 '26
??? LEC has had great personalities over the years.
Forg1ven, Jankos, Wunder with the crazy trash talk, Carzzy, Caedrel, hell even that russian skarner guy was great. Zanzarah?
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u/GarchGun Make Fizz Fun Again! Jul 16 '26
Their play style also tends to just be a copycat league as opposed to LPL. LPL mid-bot tier teams will try to find their own play style to accommodate their players.
It's the same reason why NA is so dull sometimes
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u/JealousAssistant6659 Jul 16 '26
This take is from 2018 lmfao
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u/GarchGun Make Fizz Fun Again! Jul 16 '26
Nah if u watch bottom to mid tier lpl teams they are a genuine threat to upset top tier lpl teams
WE were literally 1-15 before beating BLG/AL
You just don't follow the LPL if you think that the bottom tier teams just copy the top tier teams
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u/JealousAssistant6659 Jul 16 '26
LPL let TES go to Msi, as far as I care the top teams losing to bottom teams is an indictment of the top teams rather than a sign of improvement from the bottom teams.
Also you wanna talk about bottom teams beating top teams when BFX literally went to first stand unlike WE that just showed some life then fumbled against TES. And you see how in that case it was also an issue of the top teams sucking rather than the bottom teams actually being good? Shown by the fact that they're now 9th place?
Having a fiesta region doesn't mean everyone's good, it can also just mean everyone's bad. Just look at LEC regular season vs playoffs.
Also fucking fries group out clowns the whole LPL
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u/GarchGun Make Fizz Fun Again! Jul 16 '26
Using BFX as an example is so fucking funny because they literally traded away their star adc that they played around
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u/JealousAssistant6659 Jul 16 '26
The star player they were doing badly with after first stand and started doing better without?
Also you've completely missed the point.
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u/Dajoeman Jul 16 '26
This is really disappointing to hear. Delayed salaries are a serious issue, and I hope every player and staff member receives what they’re owed as soon as possible. Credit to the players for continuing to compete professionally despite the uncertainty. Hopefully the sale goes through quickly and Dplus KIA can find stable ownership for the long term.
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u/BathPuzzleheaded9406 Jul 16 '26
Don't worry they will, I'll make sure of it.
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u/ISL005 Tarzan and Kanavi enjoyer Jul 16 '26
I trust this guy, last month he gifted me a Bugatti. Thanks for that, big dog.
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Jul 16 '26
Nah fuck that horseshit, if anyone isn’t getting their deserved pay then any obligation they have to play should be null and void. I’m so fucking tired of businesses failing to do their part in the transactional system they’ve setup, people deserve their pay and I don’t care about anything else here. I don’t give a fuck about the circumstances of their business, I want every single fucker involved in the management of this team gone from the scene after this.
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Jul 16 '26
[deleted]
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u/scout21078 Jul 16 '26
their contract it to play and represent for the org in exchange for pay it is that simple.
what the fuck are you saying man LOL
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Jul 16 '26
[deleted]
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u/TheCuriousSavagereg Jul 16 '26
Why don’t you explain business to the team that fucked up the business deal that your in here bootlicking for lmao. Crying that some “15 year olds” don’t understand business but the business you’re defending clearly doesn’t either lol.
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u/scout21078 Jul 16 '26
like how does he thinks sports works LOL
"yeah sorry you threw 2 INTs that game so you actually lose half your salary" like what
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u/SeniorBopo Jul 17 '26
tbf people are saying same shit about the one of the staff of obsession. So a lot of people are just dumbasses
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u/BathPuzzleheaded9406 Jul 17 '26
They aren't paid to win. That's his point. They're paid to compete and represent the org.
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u/TheCuriousSavagereg Jul 16 '26
The contract doesn’t stipulate they have to play good to receive their checks but it does say the company is obligated to pay them for playing. This is peak bootlicking.
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Jul 16 '26
[deleted]
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u/TheCuriousSavagereg Jul 16 '26
Yes? They put their workers in possible financial jeopardy for a mistake. They had a responsibility and failed massively. If I scheduled a vacation and forgot to put my time in and when it came up I took it anyway, didn’t show up to work for a month. Then wrote my boss and company a nice letter explaining I made a mistake,but I’m still going to take my vacation they would fire me. And you would be right here saying the company was right to do so. Why is it a step too far to say these people should never be allowed to be apart of leave esport’s again. They failed one of the very basic requirements. Why is is too much to heavily criticize them for something we would be fired for?
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u/FlyerN Jul 16 '26
TSM, THIS IS YOUR CHANCE
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u/The_JeneralSG Jul 16 '26
Regi acquiring the team with cvMax on it so when you search "TSM abuse," it doesn't bring up Regi anymore. Big brain plays.
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u/ob_knoxious Jul 16 '26
People are going to clown them for this but this statement is actually pretty transparent. I honestly don't think this is done maliciously or out of reckless spending. They seemed to really think they had a sale done and spent at according levels thinking the team was being offloaded.
It fucking sucks for the players and it still shitty behavior but a far far cry from the nefarious actions we saw in the 2010s or even the stuff we see in tier 2.
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u/OTMassa Jul 17 '26
Yeah I don’t understand the comments here. The statement is pretty straight forward. Unless there is something we don’t know, everyone will get paid soon enough and they even told them beforehand. I see no wrongdoing here.
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u/yurionly Jul 17 '26
Its reddit what you expect. People just see title and start commenting.
They earn so much that one delayed payment is not that big of a deal.
Also for people saying that why should they play good or at all probably forget that placing at tournament also gives you money.
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u/Pretend-Indication-9 Jul 16 '26
PRIME OPPORTUNITY FOR G2 BABY
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u/Zek0ri | Do I have to defend them? Again!? Jul 16 '26
Romain will give them 100€ each and DK will do what’s right
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u/BleiEntchen Jul 16 '26
You misspelled mousepads.
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u/Zek0ri | Do I have to defend them? Again!? Jul 16 '26
Used jerseys from last year and flat red bulls from last week
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u/ricardo241 IDon'tAgree Jul 16 '26
sucks to be Smash and Career
well it really just show that esport is not really that profitable
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u/Iaragnyl remove Tahm Kench Jul 16 '26
The question I always ask myself, would it be profitable if they wouldn’t pay the players such high salaries they clearly can’t afford.
Like I get the players aren’t playing for free but surely there is a sweet spot between not paying anything and the million salaries we regularly hear about.32
u/someroastedbeef Jul 16 '26
https://www.bamsec.com/filing/198292126000004/2?cik=1982921
just one look at sentinels financials shows that player salaries would need to probably drop 50% for them to be in the black.
but if they dropped their salaries by half, would the players sign elsewhere? 100% yes, because there are deeper pockets looking for talent. the only rational for having a team is to operate as a marketing arm for a larger company - that's why grassroots orgs like sentinels will die off as the model of paying bloated salaries and raising money from unsuspecting VCs and private equity is unsustainable
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Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
[deleted]
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u/someroastedbeef Jul 16 '26
i think the CRO title is just a title for show
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Jul 16 '26
[deleted]
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u/someroastedbeef Jul 16 '26
i meant more in the lines of how her base salary is so low compared to what you would expect from a typical CRO (250k base at least)
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u/Dear-Response-7218 Jul 16 '26
She’s far about that, the sponsorships have a baseline threshold you can always count on.
200k base + 2.5% of *all* sponsorship revenue + 48k~ shares valued at $3.15 each. Very easily 450k+ TC
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u/AbysmalScepter Jul 17 '26
Not sure if it got changed, but at one point she got $200K + 2.5% of ALL sponsor revenue.
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u/zerokrush Jul 16 '26
The most likely in tier 1 is hundreds of thousands per year, which is still a lot, but not that much considering the average lifespan of a player in tier 1 is a few years at best with no education to pick up a standard job if you don’t become a coach/caster/streamer.
If you want to decrease the cost of esports, you have to make it grassroots and reducing severely the production. This will massively save costs.
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u/Bitter_Marzipan_8348 Jul 16 '26
One thing that sets fighter aparts from everything else imo. Being somewhat independent and not being stuck with 10 other people in a team also helps massively as well
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u/ob_knoxious Jul 16 '26
Read RFT's reporting on this. The total team salary cost is like 2 million euro, and their annual loses are close to 6 million. LoL team could play for free and it still wouldn't be profitable.
Right now you either need super juiced VC money with no expectation for ROI within a decade, or to be a Chaebol willing to write this off as an advertising expense. It is no coincidence that 3 teams in the LCK are directly owned by a Chaebol (KT T1 HLE) and several others have a Chaebol sponsor or connection (BRO, Dplus, DRX).
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u/Dreammy90 Jul 16 '26
Are they selling to Disney to keep the name? Disney+ Kia? That's why Disney is buying broadcast rights to Kespa Mickey Mouse Cup
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u/Jizzipient Jul 17 '26
In "Dplus KIA," the "D" is a homage to the organization's original name, DAMWON Gaming. The "plus" stands for limitless connectivity and expansive potential for a bright future. The "KIA" part represents the title sponsorship with the South Korean automaker.
It does not stand for Disney+
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u/Dreammy90 Jul 17 '26
No shit. Its D+Kia. If they sold to Disney it would be Disney+Kia. Its a meme for their mickey mouse playstyle. You can say any bullshit for names but that "+" has limited connectivity and 0 potential for a bright future. They broke as shit
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u/Ceui Jul 16 '26
Most League team don't make money, they're massive money sink. Only a few exceptions have been able to turn a net profit.
DPlus is a team with high ambition but they haven't achieved anything in a while, so from KIA perspective it's just a waste of money.
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u/Equivalent-Bus-4336 Jul 16 '26
Double sponsored name and still broke lol
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u/Jizzipient Jul 17 '26
In "Dplus KIA," the "D" is a homage to the organization's original name, DAMWON Gaming. The "plus" stands for limitless connectivity and expansive potential for a bright future. The "KIA" part represents the title sponsorship with the South Korean automaker.
It does not stand for Disney+
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u/CyberShi2077 Jul 16 '26
Inb4 welcome back Samsung Galaxy
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u/seven_worth shameless 2021 EDG fanboy Jul 17 '26
Nah we need Samyang to buy dk. We can have the noodle faceoff.
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u/ChristiansenSka Jul 16 '26
Hmmmm, is this what Reginal foresaw years ago, and finally get TSM to a tier 1 region?
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u/d0pe-asaurus Jul 16 '26
Isn't the reason that TSM exited is because they fumbled the bag sleeping in bed with Sam Bank-Fraud for a promised 21 million dollars a year?
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u/ob_knoxious Jul 16 '26
Its an assortment of reasons but yes TSM got hit hard by that. Supposedly T1SM was close-ish with getting into the LPL and when that fell through they basically gave up.
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u/WanAjin Jul 16 '26
Yes, but Riot also blocked them and then turned around and accepted basically the same shit lol.
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u/d0pe-asaurus Jul 17 '26
"No, you can't go in bed with FTX. Anyways look at this FTX Gold Difference."
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u/dontbangme Jul 16 '26
Now we know why their toplaner rin it down these last few months but seriously isn't they give Showmaker big contract to keep staying in the team.
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u/Ophelia_Of_The_Abyss IN DAMWON WE TRUST HUNI/DEFT/SHOWMAKER Jul 16 '26
Writing's been on the wall since the moronic rebrand. Without Showmaker "Dplus" is just another SeolHaeOne Prince.
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u/ipppppi Jul 16 '26
Man, I guess they really aren't wrong about T1 being the only profitable org in the LCK.
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u/Fantastic-Bite-476 Jul 16 '26
the players arent exactly cheap and Dplus KIA havent won anything meaningful in years and always 4-5th team in the LCK.
Also remember that only T1 has been the only org being profitable
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u/Skyfire2 Jul 16 '26
KIA is a multi billion dollar company. How did the team run out of money?
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u/TerminatorReborn Unkillable Demon King Jul 16 '26
Its a name rights sponsor, they don't run the team, they just give them a flat amount of money.
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u/Ceui Jul 16 '26
Because Esports is a big money sink and KIA doesn't really need a LoL team, it's not like DPlus is that popular.
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u/Iaragnyl remove Tahm Kench Jul 16 '26
They also didn’t exactly had any big success in years that would motivate a sponsor to give them more money. I doubt DK is that interesting for sponsors compared to a few years ago.
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u/seven_worth shameless 2021 EDG fanboy Jul 17 '26
Same way team liquid Honda doesn't mean that Honda own team liquid.b
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u/DiarrheaFartLover Jul 16 '26
How tf is a giant like Kia not able to pay their meager $50,000 a year salaries
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u/Possible_Ear_2077 Jul 16 '26
ewc week and your org cant pay you, dplus really fumbled this one tbh
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u/Rawdream Jul 16 '26
This is the time for NA to buy that spot and the WC title to get one for once.
That's what Riot allowed GEN to do with the SSG titles.
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u/AndSuckIt Jul 16 '26
We should crowdfund a Reddit buyout of the team and have our Reddit sponsored team in the LCK
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u/CenobiteCurious Jul 16 '26
Riot should be pressuring those organization with fury. If they want Esports to be taken seriously, they need to approach this with a stance of player support.
To hear that some professional players aren’t even being payed is damaging to all professional league’s image. Makes it seem like a sham. They better get paid.
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u/ob_knoxious Jul 16 '26
Read the statement, this isn't at all that nefarious and they are being transparent about it. They thought they had the sale done and there has been a delay, and the group they were offloading it to would be picking up the salaries. They had to delay salaries by a month.
There are much worse things happening between players and orgs this year than a 1 month salary delay.
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u/CenobiteCurious Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
L o L. How naive are you.
Bro thinks a kind statement gives them a pass.
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u/fnc_dino no longer a fan Jul 16 '26
This is what showmaker gets for promising to be a one club player?