Flashpoint Withholds $165,000 Payment to CSPPA Amid Widespread Allegations, Letter Reveals

Flashpoint is refusing to pay a previously agreed upon sum of $165,000 to the Counter-Strike Professional Player’s Association until specific concerns are remedied by the association, according to documents obtained by DBLTAP. In a letter sent to the CSPPA, Flashpoint cites unresponsiveness, competing interests, and lack of initiative as reasons for withholding the payment.

Flashpoint and the CSPPA entered into two separate agreements on March 6, according to the documents. The first is a collectively bargained term sheet regarding CSPPA players' participation in Flashpoint, and the second is a License Agreement for the CSPPA players' IP rights. In exchange for the IP rights, Flashpoint agreed to pay $165,000 for the first season of play. The first mention of these agreements were published in recent weeks by Dexerto. Passages of the letter can be seen below along with explanations.

The first complaint mentioned in the letter claims that the CSPPA caused B Site (Flashpoint) and players to lose revenue. Flashpoint alleges that in February the CSPPA stopped responding to their requests for signed paperwork that would allow players to test monitors from a prospective sponsor. As a result, they claim the league lost sponsorship revenue that would have gone to the league and players as a part of their revenue share system.

The second complaint alleges the CSPPA refused to participate in any reasonable discussions about Flashpoint rules and in particular the fining procedures. Flashpoint claims that outside of the CSPPA expressing that they felt unlimited discretion to impose unlimited fines, they did not provide meaningful input regarding these rules in February. They also claim that the CSPPA has not responded to their most recent request to discuss the rules that was sent on April 16.

As a result of the fining rules not being discussed or implemented, Flashpoint claims that they had no mechanism available to incentivize players to comply with the rest of the rules. That allegedly led to players who were repeatedly late, which in turn negatively impacted the production and broadcast. Finally, they mention that CSPPA’s failure to engage in rule discussions undermined their value in the CS:GO marketplace as they seek sponsors and additional streams of revenue.

The third complaint mentioned is the failure by the CSPPA to create a new competitive ranking system that does not rely nearly as much on gameplay frequency. During negotiations, Flashpoint claim they required the CSPPA to commit to creating the ranking system, but no action has been taken. Efforts were taken by Flashpoint to connect the CSPPA with HLTV in February, but allegedly no progress has been made.

The fourth complaint alleges members of the CSPPA’s core leadership acted as player agents for players, which Flashpoint believes is a conflict of interest that undermines the notion that the CSPPA represents all players equally. In the letter. Flashpoint alleges the Heroic roster agreed on salary terms for a transfer to FunPlus but afterward argued for a higher request based on advice from CSPPA leadership.

Flashpoint claims that CSPPA leadership used confidential knowledge outside of the transaction to strategically advise the players, allegedly resulting in the transfer to fall apart, which sparked FunPlus undergoing a last-minute roster overhaul. During that period, Flashpoint claim they tried to contact the CSPPA but they did nothing to provide transparency about the situation and did nothing to assure Flashpoint that the CSPPA wasn’t acting as an agency for the players in question.

The fifth and final complaint in the letter discusses an alleged lack of transparency from the CSPPA with regards to Flashpoint's insurance policy. Due to the difficulty they have faced when attempting to discuss the policy, they are assuming no work is being done by the CSPPA to assure Valve and the players that they are representing them ethically and transparently.

At the end of the letter Flashpoint summarizes their complaints and reiterates that the CSPPA is in breach of their agreement. As a result, they would like to see a resolution of those breaches and other issues stated to continue working together. Lastly, they express that if the CSPPA resolves these issues and seeks to renew an agreement, the CSPPA must be self-funded moving forward.

When reached for comment, Michael Doi, COO of the CSPPA, said "The CSPPA denies these allegations." Representatives from Flashpoint declined comment.

UPDATE (1:21 p.m. ET): The CSPPA has since released a longer statement in the tweet below: