.org: Passion UA ​​owes about $600 thousand to the former CS team

Ukrainian esports organization Passion UA, previously represented by a CS2 team, is on the verge of closure due to financial problems. Journalists from the portal .org reported on the situation with reference to several sources.

It is reported that Passion UA, having signed the core of Complexity in the second half of 2025, was faced with a significant increase in costs, as well as significant expenses for buying out player contracts. At the same time, in case of difficulties with the new squad at the start, the CEO of the club, Artemy Ryabov, promised to give the players, coach and his assistant a Rolex watch as motivation if they reach the second stage of StarLadder Budapest Major 2025. The team achieved the desired result, but never received any presents.

According to .org, already by the start of the major, team members had complaints against the organization due to delays in the payment of salaries and prize money. In addition, Passion UA ​​sometimes had problems with providing players at tournaments. Hotels were often not paid for in advance, and flights were often booked at the last minute. There were also cases when hotel eviction was planned for the last day of the tournament, and not the next day after its end, which created additional stress and discomfort for the players.

After StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, Passion UA ​​management initiated the transfer of Michael Grim Vince to NRG Esports for financial reasons. At the same time, Complexity intervened in the deal, not receiving the full amount from Passion UA ​​for the redemption of its core. To complete the deal, Passion UA ​​had to close part of the debt to Complexity, and NRG directly transferred the remaining amount to it, subtracting it from the price of Vince’s transfer from the Ukrainian club.

By April 2026, Passion UA ​​also had a debt to the players to pay a share of the sales of team stickers from StarLadder Budapest Major 2025. According to .org, the club received about $618 thousand for the stickers. Media sources reported that the CEO of the organization explained the situation by opening a new bank account in Dubai, into which the money from the stickers was supposed to be received.

In May 2026, Passion UA ​​considered selling JT and try as its most valuable assets. The club planned to disband the roster and reassemble the roster with players from Ukraine. But later the scale of financial problems in the organization was revealed, which led to the dismissal of all employees. At the same time, Imperial Esports announced the termination of the deal for the transfer of Santino try Rigal. Journalists found out that the Ukrainian organization did not fulfill the terms of the agreement, and the Argentine player still owes part of the salary.

Against the backdrop of the crisis, football player Alexander Zinchenko publicly announced the termination of cooperation with Passion UA. He stated that he initially joined the project solely as a media partner. At the same time, the .org material notes that such a description of his role contradicted the previous public positioning of the organization and Zinchenko himself. In addition, the football player was closely connected with Passion UA ​​CEO Ryabov through other companies.

I do not deny that Mr. Ryabov was a close friend of our family for many years and had access to many aspects of my professional and personal activities. However, our relationship has changed significantly since then. I cannot comment on these matters at this stage as they remain the subject of legal and potentially criminal investigations.

According to .org, by the end of the roster's existence, Passion UA ​​owed former players about $500-600 thousand. The bulk of this amount came from money from stickers from StarLadder Budapest Major 2025. Ryabov, according to sources, repeatedly told players that the funds were allegedly not paid to Valve.

Ryabov himself initially agreed to a conversation with representatives of .org, but subsequently stopped responding to messages. As journalists learned, in June 2026, he sold his 50% stake in A&P Performance Lab, a training base in Riga, co-owned by ASTRAL, along with the equipment. One of the sources inside Passion UA ​​believes that there is almost no chance of repaying the debt.

Ex-members of Passion UA: