Esports organisation labelled ‘predatory’ by former members

Streamer group The Mob accuse eSports organisation 100 Thieves of mistreating them while they were under contract, but the co-owner refutes the accusations.

100 Thieves Gaming is an eSports organisation that hires streamers and, in exchange for a portion of the streamer’s earnings, uses their platform and resources to grow channels to huge follower counts. This is a deal that a streamer group known as The Mob quite liked the sound of, and they signed with 100 Thieves in 2019, however, this deal wouldn’t last.

On August 29, a member of The Mob, Froste, put 100 Thieves on blast on Twitter, calling them a “predatory organisation”. He claimed that they had to pay $2,500 USD in rent a month while only getting paid $1,650 USD. The Mob were able to earn extra money through brand deals and sponsorships, but Froste claimed they were denied from taking some deals if they worked against 100 Thieves as a brand. Froste points to a “$20k a month deal from GFuel” that they were forced to turn down due to GFuel being a competing sponsor for another deal 100 Thieves had in the works that never came to pass.

This these serious claims against them, the co-owner of 100 Thieves, Nadeshot, responded on a stream where he said that Froste’s claims were completely untrue and gave his own version of events. Nadeshot explained that each member of The Mob was paid $2,500 USD per month, which would come down to roughly the figure Frost claimed post-taxes. He also detailed how the group chose to live in a house that cost $10,000 USD per month to rent, claiming that the group lived far beyond their means, which isn’t the fault of 100 Thieves.

Nadeshot. Picture: YouTube

Nadeshot said that 100 Thieves gave The Mob a monthly budget for their content and any necessary equipment, but the group didn’t stream enough to significantly grow their channel or earn enough to justify their lifestyle. Froste quickly accused Nadeshot of lying on Twitter, but offered no proof and fan opinion quickly began to turn against him, with people posting listings for much more affordable properties in the area.

After the initial argument died down, a former member of The Mob – and one of the top-earning streamers on Twitch – Ludwig, posted a YouTube video on September 1 giving his opinion on the controversy. Ludwig called out 100 Thieves’ policy of taking 85% of the money from a brand deal. He called it “f**king predatory” and accused 100 Thieves of taking advantage of naive 19 to 20-year-olds.

However, he agreed with Nadeshot’s assertion that The Mob didn’t put in the work that was required of them to become a success while working with 100 Thieves. He explained, “I will put most of the blame, in fact almost all of it, on the individuals of The Mob, because they didn’t work hard enough with the opportunity they were given.”

Neither Nadeshot nor Froste has commented on Ludwig’s video as of September 6.

Written by Ryan Woodrow on behalf of GLHF.