TENSTAR halts all operations

The British esports organization TENSTAR has recently declared that it has ceased all operations after two years. The reason is that “unattractive” and “unsustainable” Tier 2 conditions make it challenging to attract investment partners. The company has said it will return when things improve. But, before then, the entire facility will be dismantled.

Tenstar is based in the West Midlands region of England. The organization has temporarily suspended all its activities to save money while it tries to settle outstanding accounts with employees and players.

About TENSTAR

The Midlands organization participated in VALORANT and Rainbow Six: Siege at a relatively high level of competition. A Challenger League squad finished second in the Siege competition in December and won €10,000 in prize money. More recently, it triumphed in the competition for female players, the Contenders Legion: Athena Series.

In the UK, the company works in the educational sector. It collaborated with SCL Enigmaz to provide competitive coaching and tutoring services. SCL Education established SCL Enigmaz, which provided numerous BTEC level 2 and 3 college courses across the UK. TENSTAR also entered into a partnership with Acti-Fit in October 2021.

Financial problems

Mid-sized esports teams, in particular, are finding it hard to survive. However, TENSTAR’s announcement reveals how difficult it has been to show potential investors a clear return on investment.

Eventually, the group was forced to part ways with its players due to a lack of funding and a shutdown.

“TENSTAR have had … extensive conversations with various Investment partners … The majority of those discussions require definitive Return on Investment projections. Which are difficult to produce and harder to prove in our two core titles, Rainbow Six: Siege and VALORANT.”

Worse, TENSTAR added in a statement:

” Winning a [VALORANT Regional League] will barely generate enough revenue to pay one player, for one month. Completely unsustainable, without considerable third-party investment.”

Last year, TENSTAR competed in the VRL East, and the winner of this year’s Challengers East will only receive €7,500 for the split. In contrast, the winner of the NA Challengers split one receives $20,000. Such meager sums are insufficient to support players and organizations.

On the other hand, the organization and its sister company Adamo Gaming have been denounced for not paying their workers. According to a report by Esports News UK, some workers have filed labor lawsuits to get the company to pay them. TENSTAR’s statement last Friday also stated that it still owes some employees and players money.

The organization said it would return when it can better support players and staff.

Crisis in esports

Regardless of title, nation, or level of achievement, more and more teams are leaving esports. Currently, esports is in a crisis, making it difficult to get out. In these times, economic difficulties make it impossible for small teams to survive. Only the best teams in Category 1 have a chance of survival, but at the moment, things are difficult for the less successful clubs.

Header: TENSTAR