Samsung Galaxy players have allegedly not received their cut of Worlds skin sales after three years

In a concerning clip that has found its way to Twitter, former SSG toplaner, CuVee announced that he, Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk and Kang “Ambition” Chan-yong had not received any of the payments they are due regarding the sale of their Worlds skins. Considering they won Worlds in 2017, that makes it three years that they have been waiting for payment.

According to CuVee, SSG 2017 still haven’t received their cut from the sale of their World’s skins.

TWENTY-SEVENTEEN.
TWO-ZERO-ONE-SEVEN.

He said that the players who were in America (CoreJJ/Crown) have gotten their share, but not the others.

It’s been THREE years. https://t.co/Pg8Q6eNVTG

— Sher ʕ•̫͡•ʔ (@gzeebee) September 16, 2020

A translation of the clip was quickly posted to Twitter, and confirmed by journalist Ashley Kang. Interestingly, the players that ended up in North America for at least some portion of time (Lee “Crown” Min-ho and Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in) have received their share, but those who have remained in Korea have not.

SSG celebrate their Worlds victory in 2017 (Picture: LoL Esports)

Why the 2017 champions haven’t been receiving payments is still unclear. Whether the fault is with Riot (either globally or in Korea), Samsung (who are no longer involved in the LCK), or some legal quagmire is unknown, and leaves the public with only speculation as to what has been preventing payments. The fact that Riot has gotten payments to two of the members suggests that there is an issue getting money to the players directly in Korea - but why that would be is currently a mystery.

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It is an embarrassing situation for Riot, who recently announced a change in its Worlds prize pool system in response to the popularity of Worlds skins sales. It’s all well and good lowering the percentage of the pool the champions get due to the final payout getting bolstered by Worlds skins, but if those players never receive payment then it is a glaring black mark in Riot’s record book.