Beyond the Summit announces complete lay off and restructuring

Beyond the Summit (BTS), the renowned esports event organizing company has announced that it has let go of all its staff due to financial struggles. 

BTS co-founder David “LD” Gorman announced that the company would be releasing all of its employees and ceasing operations after 11 years in business. BTS will be keeping all full-time staff on its payroll for the next two weeks and has offered them two weeks’ severance. 

Also, the company will offer American employees additional severance based on their length of service as well as healthcare coverage through the end of April. As a gesture of support, LD has compiled a list of every employee in a separate file and urged other organizations looking for staff to hire them.

The esports industry has been seeing a continuing wave of closures and layoffs as a result of the deteriorating global economic climate, and BTS is just another victim. Fnatic, an organization based in the UK, dismantled its Southeast Asian Dota 2 team and left the scene earlier this month, while the Guard also let go of its multiple employees. 

While many esports organizations have sought venture capital funding to survive the industry’s deteriorating financial situation, Beyond the Summit ruled out that option, despite interest from investors, according to Gorman’s statement. This is due to the organization’s strong value put in its grassroots, independent nature, and emphasis on serving the community.

Beyond the Summit‘s history in esports

The 2011-founded BTS has established itself as a leading tournament organizer in Dota 2 and the Super Smash Bros community. The organization is also renowned for creating interesting and high-quality web content, including podcasts and video series.

Beginning in 2013 with the Gigabyte Dota 2 Masters, BTS has been hosting thrilling Dota 2 competitions for over a decade. But, the Summit series of competitions, a distinctive series of events that frequently took place inside the BTS home and sets, is undoubtedly what the production firm is best known for.

The Summit prioritized humorous skits and behind-the-scenes shots of participants, drawing inspiration from StarCraft 2’s Homestory Cup. These components laid the groundwork for the Dota 2 scene and greatly influenced the mood and aesthetic of all subsequent events. BTS organized a total of 12 Summit competitions for Dota 2, the most recent of which, Dota Summit 12, took place in March 2020. 

In addition to numerous other competitions, BTS also held DPC regional leagues for North America, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Yet in October of last year, just when BTS appeared to be recovering from the financial losses brought on by Covid-19, they made the announcement that they would not be organizing a DPC league for the 2023 campaign. The Smash Ultimate Summit 6, which takes place from March 23 to 26, will be BTS’s final event.

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