Guild Esports ceases operations; allegations of unpaid work & mismanagement

UK-based organisation Guild Esports, formerly co-owned by David Beckham, has announced its closure. The team saw its former VALORANT roster reach Masters Copenhagen in 2022, and now closes its doors with allegations of unpaid work and mismanagement lingering around the company.

Guild Esports closes

Guild announced its shutdown in a series of posts on X, explaining how “financial challenges and the current economic climate” made it “impossible” to continue operations, despite the company’s best efforts.

The statements thanked those who had been involved in the organisation’s five-year journey, adding that it was ‘privileged to champion representation and create opportunities within our industry using esports and gaming as powerful tools for inspiration, inclusion, and empowerment’.

‘We recognise that this closure disappoints the community that believed in us, and for that we are sorry. However, we hope this does not overshadow the work our dedicated staff delivered throughout our journey.’

Guild’s VALORANT legacy

Though having only competed for two seasons, Guild found some level of success in VALORANT’s esports circuit and attended one of the game’s earliest global events in Masters Copenhagen 2022.

The organisation competed in European VCT competitions throughout 2021 and 2022, reaching third place in the 2022 Stage 2 Challengers. This booked their place in Copenhagen, where Guild finished 7th-8th after being eliminated by eventual-winners FunPlus Pheonix in a 2-1 loss.

Their roster at the time featured a number of players who went on to cement themselves as top VCT EMEA talent, including current Team Vitality flex Sayf, Team Liquid’s trexx, and two-time Masters champion with Fnatic, Leo.

Closure a long time coming

Founded in 2020, Guild immediately rose to prominence as a result of Beckham’s co-owning of the org. Despite his position as a co-owner, it was later revealed that the former football player had entered a five-year deal with Guild for the use of his image rights in exchange for £15.25m, split over five annual payments. Two years into the contract, the deal was renegotiated to a minimum of £7.5m alongside 20% of the team’s merchandising and sponsorship revenues.

Having initially raised £20m during its 2020 IPO, Guild was unable to find its financial footing despite notable partnerships with the likes of Sky and Subway, and was eventually sold to U.S. investor DCB Sports for £2.1m in 2024 after years of losses and having seen its stock price plummet 90% from its peak in 2020.

The organisation had been put up for sale on an insolvency marketplace last week, according to a report by City A.M., and was thought to have been at risk of closure should no buyer be found.

Unpaid salaries & mental impacts

Guild’s shutdown has quickly reignited allegations of unpaid work from the organisation. Well-known esports talent Frankie Ward reacted to the news by alleging that she had not yet been paid any invoices for any work done this year, and accused Guild of exploiting women through its inclusion-focused projects, such as its Women in Gaming initiative.

Ward revealed how a non-compete clause from Guild partner Sky Broadband — a UK-based internet service provider — prevented her from taking other jobs during a five-month period that she worked for and was allegedly not paid by Guild.

“Honestly, the lies and the irresponsible actions of Guild are hands down the most disgusting betrayal of trust I’ve experienced in gaming, and I’ve had some bumps on the road. They have not empowered women and marginalised genders, they have financially abused us.

“They tell women that if they pay part of their invoice if they continue to take part – that’s coercion. They sign contracts they cannot honour.”

Former Guild Esports Director of Esports, Grant Rousseau, backed up the allegations, stating that the organisation is “permanently overshadowing” the good work done by its staff unless they pay the staff and creators owed.

Other conflicts with sponsor Sky Broadband were also alleged. Emzii, a transgender EA FC player who competed in the Guild-run Football eSeries in 2024, made a series of posts detailing her experience competing in the LAN tournament. She explained how latency issues and constant lagging had affected her performance at the event, but she was told that she was not allowed to talk of such issues publicly given the Sky Broadband partnership.

Emzii explained how she had her “dream and opportunities ripped away” as a result of the issues, while unknowing commentators speculated that the pressure of the event had caused her poor performance. She went on to detail serious mental struggles that she felt were catalysed by her Football eSeries experience, culminating in a suicide attempt later that year.