GBM says Galatasaray Esports have not paid his salary

Mid laner Lee “GBM” Chang-seok took to Twitter this afternoon, claiming that Turkish League of Legends team Galatasaray Esports yet to pay the player’s salary in full from this season and have ignored all of his requests for payment from the team.

The 25-year-old League of Legends player claims that his former team allegedly promised to pay his salary during the first week of October, but says the team continued to push the date back further and further as time went on. GBM says that the team still has not replied to the player after weeks of requests.

Board member of Galatasaray Esports Erol Özmandıracı responded to GBM’s accusations shortly after, denying GBM’s claims that the organization has not paid the player. Özmandıracı states that Galatasaray has already paid 50% of GBM’s total salary and that the mid laner can expect the other 50% “very soon,” though he did not provide a specific date. “You write like you go nothing!” Özmandıracı added. GBM responded to Özmandıracı’s initial reply and says the team has lied to him about holding a player’s meeting, continuing to claim Galatasaray Esports has not provided any additional information on the matter of his salary.

GBM is not alone in his claim, as former teammate jungler Choi “BalKhan” Hyun-jin also took to Twitter on Sunday stating that the two players have been in debt due to the nonpayment, leading the players to ask “acquaintances” for money until they receive their salaries. Former support Barış “Tolerant” Çepnioğlu also provided a statement claiming Galatasaray Esports has not yet paid his salary, as well.

The news regarding Galatasaray Esports comes a few days after Riot Games announced they would be banning MEGA Esports CEO Arnold Tandra from all LoL tournaments until 2022 for his role in not paying the salaries of his players. It will be interesting to see whether or not Riot Games will also get involved in this matter, as well, as it appears this is an issue across all esports.