FISSURE CEO Details Unpaid Prize Money Repayment Plans

FISSURE still owes prize money to teams from its Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 competitions, CEO Nikolay Vesnin acknowledged in an open letter published on the company’s website on Nov. 4, 2026. He apologized to affected players and organizations and outlined plans for further repayments in the first quarter of 2027.

FISSURE has not disclosed the total amount owed or set a deadline for settling all outstanding payments. The repayment plan for early 2027 depends on new commercial agreements that the company is negotiating.

Vesnin wrote that repayments began during the summer of 2026. FISSURE has paid about half of its outstanding CS2 prize money, according to the letter. Initial payments to some Dota 2 teams began before an October tournament.

Revenue from a tournament in China helped cover part of the company’s CS2 obligations. FISSURE is also using available funds from completed projects to repay teams. The company did not provide independent confirmation of the payments, a team-by-team breakdown or details of the remaining debt.

“We acknowledge the debt in full,” Vesnin wrote. He added that FISSURE’s progress should be judged by its completed payments rather than its statements.

FISSURE previously disclosed unpaid prize money involving 15 Counter-Strike organizations in a statement dated June 23, 2026. The list included Team Falcons, FURIA, G2, Team Liquid, Aurora and The MongolZ. The disclosure did not specify how much each organization was owed or identify which teams had since received payments. Vesnin’s latest letter provided no team-by-team breakdown for Dota 2.

For the first quarter of 2027, FISSURE is seeking commercial agreements that could support another round of repayments. The company has prepared a financial plan, but its implementation depends on the outcome of ongoing negotiations. Vesnin did not provide specific amounts or promise that all debts would be settled by March 2027.

FISSURE plans to negotiate repayment schedules separately with affected clubs and publish a report during the first quarter of 2027. The report is expected to detail payments made and the remaining debt-reduction work.

Vesnin attributed the financial problems to FISSURE’s expansion in 2025. The company committed to major tournament expenses without securing enough guaranteed commercial revenue. A planned agreement with a potential partner in the international English-language betting market was never signed, while sponsorships from other industries did not provide enough additional income.

Another tournament failed to meet participant lineup targets included in a commercial agreement, causing further losses. Vesnin accepted personal responsibility for FISSURE’s financial planning and acknowledged that the company should have protected its obligations to teams from commercial setbacks. “We failed to do that,” he wrote.

The financial problems led FISSURE to part ways with many employees toward the end of 2025. The company plans to continue organizing esports events, which Vesnin described as a source of revenue needed to meet its existing commitments.

FISSURE also plans to secure prize pools before new tournaments begin, reduce production costs, work more closely with host cities and local partners, and reconsider tournament locations. The company published the letter on its official English-language X account on Nov. 4.

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Reviewed and fact-checked by Alex Panasenko on November 7.