May was Lock's last month on the Merge network before switching to Revolution. The move to the new network caused multiple complications, one of which was the May SNG leader board. The leader board was not Lock-exclusive and was available to most skins on Merge other than those that opted out. This promotion was intended to run for the entire month of May with the 25 highest finishers receiving a cash prize.
This promotion was advertised on Lock's website for the entire month of May. Lock ended up leaving to their own network a day before the month ended, and as a result, their players were removed from the SNG Leader board. It was not communicated to players that this would be happening, and no one from Lock was paid.
Myself and other players emailed support or contacted Lock's 2+2 reps, but considering the switch to the new network, not many answers were provided. Eventually this thread was created: May SNG leaderboard from Merge
"ImJustShane" (Lock's 2+2 rep) eventually acknowledged the situation and after some discussions with Merge, agreed that Lock would be responsible for paying those affected:
Originally Posted by
imjustshane
After multiple attempts to get this paid as it should have been we are now going to just pay this out of our pocket.
Just waiting on a list of payouts from Merge now so we can take care of this, I will update back in this thread when that information is at hand.
Unfortunately Merge refused to provide Lock with the information confirming where Lock's players stood when they were removed from the leader board. Lock was able to identify where two players stood on the leader board because their volume made it obvious. However, there was trouble identifying where 3-4 players placed who would have finished between 10th and 25th.
On September 4th ImJustShane asked all players who believed they were affected by this issue to e-mail him information proving their case:
Originally Posted by
imjustshane
Ive spoken to LTT777 and jhubs89 separately, we know where they finished so that was easy. Now we need the other guys to work with us so we can figure out what they are owed.
If mise and anyone else that thinks they placed on the leaderboard can email any information they have to help us work out where they would have placed we can start working towards resolving this completely.
Personally, I sent shane a screenshot of my HEM database and Sharkscope results for May. I also sent him HEM/SS information from the two previous month's where I cashed on the leader board, as well as screenshots of those month's leader boards for comparison. I never received a reply to that e-mail. I also posted in the above linked thread several times asking for confirmation that Shane received my e-mail as well as a few PM's that went unanswered.
On September 27th Shane posted in the thread that he was continuing to work on the situation but didn't give any concrete updates on the situation. Myself and other players continued to bump the thread and attempt to contact Shane to no avail.
Shane finally broke his silence yesterday complaining that the situation was proving too difficult since he could not get the exact figures from Merge. However on September 3rd he had already acknowledged that Merge would not be assiting in this matter and that Lock would be figuring out on their own where players likely finished:
9/3
Originally Posted by
imjustshane
I have just received bad news from Merge, Merge management have told the Merge employees they are not to give us the data to pay out the leaderboard.
I made sure I reminded them that this was a network wide promo that they ran and were responsible for paying and therefore the least they could do was give us the data so we could pay it. They still declined.
I have written to my CEO tonight to see if we can come up with a plan to move forward without the information from Merge.
9/4
Originally Posted by
imjustshane
If mise and anyone else that thinks they placed on the leaderboard can email any information they have to help us work out where they would have placed we can start working towards resolving this completely.
So here we are today. Two players have been paid, however myself and at least 2 other players have not been paid with almost no explanation of what's going on. It should be noted that each of these 3 players would have been awarded $100-$200. For me personally I know I would have either won $100 or $125. Therefore Lock has decided to drag this out for 5 months over a maximum of $525.
After increased frustration due to Lock's communication I decided to make this thread. Hopefully increased exposure to this issue will encourage Lock to make good on Shane's multiple promises in the May Leader board thread.
Cliffs:
- Lock particpates in Merge's SNG Leader board which awards the top 25 finishers a cash prize for the month of May and advertises it on their website
- Lock Leaves Merge a day before the promtion ends, removing Lock's players from the leader board with no warning
- Merge refuses to provide Lock with the information to determine where Lock's players stood when they were removed so Lock's 2+2 rep encourages affected players to prove their case to him via email
- 5 months later and Players are still owed money