Dplus KIA is one of the biggest names in pro League of Legends, but that prominence hasn’t prevented the Korean esports organization from finding itself in financial trouble and facing player salary delays.
Financial instability isn’t anything new for the world of esports, an industry that remains young despite the global popularity it has already achieved. And while the Korean esports scene is often seen and discussed as being the most stable internationally, it too has been subject to fluctuations over the years.
The latest evidence of that came in the form of a formal announcement released by Dplus KIA, one of the top esports organization in Korean LoL, making clear that it was seeking new financial backing while being unable to pay its players.
What happened to Dplus KIA?
Dplus KIA took to social media on July 16 to explain to fans that the esports organization was seeking new ownership, and that it had temporarily suspended paying its players while this process is ongoing.
The organization claimed that its players being left unpaid while still competing was not a part of its original plan, but that the process of finding a new ownership group willing to finance the team had taken longer than expected. It was acknowledged that a mergers and acquisitions company had been brought in to assist with the process, but the specifics of that M&A group and the current status of that process were not made immediately clear.
What was made clear was that this process had dragged on to the point that Dplus KIA was no longer able to afford its own player salaries. With that in mind, the organization announced a one-month delay to paying its own players.
Whether this delay could extend beyond a single month was not made clear. But it stands to reason that if Dplus KIA is not able to pay its players for the current month, it won’t be able to pay them in future months should alternative financing not be found for the Korean esports organization and its LCK team.
Dplus KIA players continue competing unpaid
The announcement coincides with Dplus KIA and its players being in the middle of competition at the Esports World Cup, where the team led by star mid-laner ShowMaker has continued competing despite now being unpaid.
Dplus KIA managed to defeat G2 Esports after the LEC champion’s recent coaching change, as well as CBLoL team FURIA. Those two victories were enough to qualify the side to the EWC playoffs that are set to begin on July 17, where it will face Mid-Season Invitational runner-up Bilibili Gaming in a single-elimination series.
Dplus KIA facing financial difficulties is especially notable given the organization’s past successes. The team claimed victory at the 2020 League of Legend World Championship, and finished as runner-up at both Worlds and MSI in 2021.
Such issues are far from restricted to League of Legends. Competing MOBA Dota 2 has recently seen some of its biggest team names fall away from the game as the esports industry continues to pivot and evolve into the future.
