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Passion UA Collapse Leaves Players and Staff Reportedly Owed up to $600,000
Passion UA’s rollercoaster story started with an organization that went international and had high hopes of Tier 1 success, only to end up on the verge of disappearing from competitive Counter-Strike, but not before reportedly leaving players and staff around $500,000 to $600,000 in unpaid obligations.
According to a report by HLTV, the Ukrainian organization is allegedly headed for liquidation just a year after signing the core of Complexity’s roster. The reported debt includes unpaid salaries, tournament prize money, Budapest Major digital-item revenue, bonuses, and other promised compensation.
The apparent contradiction at the center of the Passion UA collapse is that the organization’s Budapest Major run reportedly generated approximately $618,000 in digital-item revenue, yet former players and staff say they never received their share.
HLTV spoke to multiple anonymous sources familiar with the situation; CEO Artemijs Rjabovs stopped responding to questions, and footballer Oleksandr Zinchenko said he was a media partner without financial control.
A Major Run Followed by Unpaid Obligations
Passion UA qualified for the PGL Major Budapest 2025 as the Americas region’s fourth-highest-ranked side and advanced to Stage 2, finishing just short of the playoffs after a 0-2 start and a late push. As a Stage 2 team, the organization reportedly earned around $618,000 from team digital items tied to the Major.
Generated revenue is not the same as money that is immediately available or distributed. In esports, digital-item proceeds are typically paid out in installments and can be affected by platform processing, tax, and internal revenue-sharing agreements.
According to two sources cited by HLTV, Passion UA CEO Artemijs Rjabovs told the team the delay was connected to opening a new bank account in Dubai as part of a broader relocation plan, and on other occasions said Valve had not yet paid the organization. Valve did not respond to requests for comment.
Players and staff reportedly began asking about their share as early as January, after receiving the second installment of individual sticker money but not the organization’s portion. By mid-2026, the roster had been released, employees were seeking new jobs, and the organization had not posted on social media since late June.
The Cost of International Expansion
Passion UA began as an all-Ukrainian project and even qualified for the 2024 Shanghai Major with a domestic lineup. In August 2025, the organization pivoted toward an international identity by signing four players from Complexity; these were:
- Johnny “JT” Theodosiou
- Håkon “hallzerk” Fjærli
- Michael “Grim” Wince
- and Nick “nicx” Lee
- Tiaan “T.c” Coertzen (Head Coach)
That move increased competitive ambitions and financial exposure. Signing a high-level roster involves more than player salaries; it includes transfer fees, travel, accommodation, support staff, management overhead, and international operations.
One source told HLTV that “from that moment, profitability was out of the window,” adding that the investment could have worked “if done correctly.” At the same time, Passion UA remained a relatively new and inefficient organization, with Rjabovs supervising almost every aspect, including finances.
Warning Signs Inside the Organization
Sources described a pattern of operational strain that affected daily life for players and staff. Salaries, initially paid mostly on time, became increasingly inconsistent, and tournament prize money was a persistent issue throughout the team’s tenure.
Travel and accommodation arrangements were often handled at the last minute, with hotel bookings sometimes unpaid in advance and check-outs scheduled for the final day of events rather than the day after.
Before the Budapest Major, Rjabovs promised each of the five players and two coaches a Rolex watch if the team reached Stage 2. The team achieved that goal, but sources say the watches were never delivered and the topic was not raised again by management. One source described the atmosphere:
“When are we getting our prize money? When are we getting our watches? Have you guys been paid your salary for this month?”
The same source added that such concerns make it hard for players to focus fully on competition.
Unpaid Transfer Obligations
The reported financial problems extended beyond employees and affected relationships with other organizations. When Passion UA moved to transfer Michael “Grim” Wince to NRG, Complexity reportedly intervened because it had not received the full amount owed for the original sale of its core to Passion UA six months earlier.
The situation reached an impasse until Passion UA paid part of the outstanding fee and NRG paid the remainder directly to Complexity, deducting it from the buyout it owed Passion UA for Grim.
Later, Imperial announced it had cancelled a transfer agreement with Passion UA for Argentinian AWPer Santino “try” Rigal after the Ukrainian organization allegedly failed to fulfill the deal’s terms. HLTV reported that the player is still owed part of his wages in connection with the arrangement.
Broader Implications of the Passion UA Collapse
The Passion UA collapse raises practical questions for the CS2 ecosystem about financial transparency, player protections, and the risks of building an organization around projected Major income. The reported debt of $500,000–$600,000 to players and staff, combined with unpaid transfer obligations to Complexity and a cancelled transfer with Imperial shows how quickly financial problems can spread beyond salaries.
What's more, the case also highlights the difference between revenue generation and cash distribution, and the importance of clear revenue-sharing agreements for digital-item proceeds.
With Passion UA reportedly facing liquidation, the unresolved questions around responsibility, between a CEO who managed finances and a public face who says he had no financial control, remain central to understanding how such a situation developed.
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Featured Image Credit: Passion UA
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