The esports organization Monte is receiving heavy criticism from the Counter-Strike community following a public dispute regarding unpaid player salaries and missing prize money. The situation escalated after a social media exchange between the organization and former player Aurimas “Bymas” Pipiras. You can see all the tweets and the backlash from the community here.
Bymas left Monte earlier this summer alongside Aleks “Rainwaker” Petrov, Oscar “azuwu” Bell, and Aurélien “afro” Drapier to join Luminosity. Shortly after the transfer, Luminosity benched Bymas to sign former HEROIC player Simon “yxngstxr” Boije. When Bymas announced his benching on X, the official Monte account replied with the message “Shit happens” accompanied by three laughing emojis.
Bymas details missing payments and contract disputes
The comment prompted Bymas to release a statement claiming Monte owes him tens of thousands of dollars. According to his post, the sum includes his share of Major sticker revenue, tournament prize money dating back to 2025, monthly payments, and performance bonuses.
Bymas stated that payment delays were a recurring issue and that the lack of financial consistency heavily influenced his decision not to re-sign. He pointed out that Monte received a large sum of buyout money following the Major while former staff and players remained unpaid.
Former teammates corroborate financial allegations
Several former Monte players publicly defended Bymas and confirmed his claims. Aleks “Rainwaker” Petrov stated he has not received any prize pool money from his time with the organization.
Oscar “AZUWU” Bell confirmed multiple delayed payments and added that his contract was expiring without receiving a formal written extension offer, receiving only a verbal proposal to prolong the agreement on the original terms.
Aurélien “afro” Drapier also commented, asking the community to read the statements before making assumptions about the roster move to Luminosity. He criticized Monte for acting disrespectfully and emphasized that repeated financial issues motivated the team to sign elsewhere.
Monte claims contract violations and secret negotiations
Following the initial social media exchange, Monte provided a statement to HLTV addressing the financial claims. The organization asserted that players who violated the terms of their contracts were fined and called the claims about owing tens of thousands of dollars a complete lie.
Regarding the sticker revenue, Monte stated that ownership of the money depends on interpretation and disputed that they owe the players those funds. The organization admitted to payment delays but attributed them to external factors, citing issues with transfer payments and sponsorship money. Monte concluded by stating that everyone was informed about the financial situation and that no players had personally expressed dissatisfaction directly to management.
In a recently published video, Monte representatives addressed the departure of the roster directly. The organization accused the departing players of negotiating secretly with Luminosity and their agents behind the organization’s back. Monte claims the agents orchestrated the move to secure signing bonuses for the players while avoiding buyout fees that would have been paid to Monte.
According to the video, the players kept their negotiations hidden from management and their in-game leader, Jack “Gizmy” von Spreckelsen, who was allegedly the last person to find out about the roster move. The organization stated they regret not forcing the players to sign contract extensions prior to the Major, and claimed that azuwu was pressured into signing with Luminosity by his agent.
