A missed paycheck is dangerous sufficient, however being accused of match-fixing is doubtlessly career-ending. Counter-Strike Main finalist Nicholas “Keoz” Dgus has accused his group, kONO.ECF, of breaching his contract by failing to pay his wage, and he believes they planted false match-fixing allegations too.
He claims that the group resorted to those false accusations to withhold his fee.
From Wage Dispute to Match-Fixing Allegations
The story begins with CS2 participant Keoz claiming kONO.ECF breached his contract by failing to pay his assured wage for December 2025, which he says was due by a hard and fast date every month.
Keoz mentions that when he began demanding fee, the group pressured him to cease insisting. kONO even tried to dismiss the problem utterly, allegedly saying the sum of money owed “received’t make anybody richer.” He said that he had by no means been benched, suspended, or sanctioned, that means there was no motive for him to not be paid.
The previous GamerLegion star continued, saying that after he formally demanded fee, he “instantly” acquired claims primarily based on nameless data accusing him of match-fixing. The group then requested that he take a polygraph check.
Keoz added that the accusations surfaced solely after the group had already breached the contract, main him to consider the claims are coming from the group itself to withhold fee.
kONO.ECF Responds
The group replied, denying Keoz’s claims, however didn’t instantly affirm whether or not his December wage was paid. As a substitute of addressing the missed fee situation, kONO mentioned it had no motive to “punish” gamers.
The staff confirmed that Keoz was certainly requested to bear an integrity evaluation primarily based on the match-fixing allegations he mentioned he had acquired. Nevertheless, kONO said this was merely an ordinary and preventive process, and never a public accusation.
The group then claimed that communication was moved to personal channels at his request. It then doubled down, alleging that folks claiming to signify Keoz had threatened to trigger reputational harm if fee was not made.
Most notably, kONO didn’t level to any contract clause of monetary motive that might justify withholding his wage.
Keoz Alleges kONO Invented New Causes to Withhold Fee
Keoz mentioned the group nonetheless has not paid his December wage and that nothing in his contract permits kONO to withhold or scale back it.
The 25-year-old claims that after the dispute was moved to personal communication, the group started saying he owed them cash from a earlier buyout. In keeping with Keoz, this was by no means written into his contract and was by no means signed. On prime of that, the quantity being claimed is even larger than what was beforehand mentioned.
Keoz believes that is simply one other excuse to not pay him. In keeping with the participant, the reason for the lacking wage has shifted a number of instances, and the alleged debt surfaced solely after he demanded fee, simply as with the match-fixing allegations.
Former kONO Participant Additionally Alleges Threats
One other former kONO participant, Zahar “Polbandana” Siledchyk, supported Keoz’s claims on X. Polbandana said that he additionally skilled threats, this time of bodily violence, from the administration of the group throughout his time enjoying underneath the staff.
Evidently there are ongoing disputes between kONO.ECF and its gamers. The group was co-founded by Ukrainian soccer star Yevhen Konoplyanka, who performed for enormous European groups equivalent to Sevilla and Schalke all through his profession.
Whereas CEO Oleh Shustenko posted his assertion and model of occasions to social media, Konoplyanka has not commented publicly on the time of writing.
