It’s a terrible day to be Into The Breach’s Dota 2 team as ITB ceases operations due to mismanaged company funds.
According to the official statement from ITB and their CEO, Sam “STM” Cook, the company has declared bankruptcy after financial mismanagement. According to the CEO himself, he reportedly took £600,000 in “director’s loans” out of the organization for personal use. This in turn lead to the dissolution of the organization’s teams and business.
ITB ceases Dota 2 team operation due to financial mismanagement (Image credit: Into The Breach Esports)
ITB CEO Admits To Financial Mismanagement As Org Shutters
It’s all eyes on ITB’s CEO as the cause behind the sudden winding down of operations for Into The Breach, and specifically, their Dota 2 division. However, things are expected to be worse as to quote Sam himself,
“ITB goes under, people lose employment, salaries will go unpaid, money lost, hate created – all my fault and responsibility.”
With £600,000 missing from the company’s funds, the ITB management (excluding Sam) is frantically attempting to resolve their financial issues before they go under. Not much is shared in Sam’s confession post, regarding where and how the funds were misused. However, in the replies, he intimated that it related to “self loathing and vices.” As Cook voiced how dire the situation will get from this point, the CEO explained that he expected his apologies to fall on deaf ears.
ITB’s announcement (Image credit: Into The Breach Esports)
ITB Shutters Their Dota 2 Division
It sucks to be ITB’s recent Dota 2 team, especially Robson “TeaGuvnor” Merritt and Ivan “MinD_ContRoL” Ivanov. According to TeaGuvnor, they weren’t aware of the finanicial issues ITB had, and would have found another org if they knew.
“As of today, ITB has let go of the Dota team.
We were not aware of the financial issues ITB had with its other teams. Had we been, we would have found another organisation.
The stack will continue to play together!
>Looking for Org https://t.co/VmJYwlqD1V”— TeaGuvnor #StandWithUkraine (@TeaGuvnor) January 27, 2025
Unfortunately, ITB’s breach of trust has led to this terrible circumstance for these Dota 2 players. Nonetheless, although the squad has lost their sponsor and org, they will still continue to play together at upcoming Dota 2 tournaments. They are currently looking for a new org.