Several high profile streamers have called out Endgame Talent and Scott Ball for not paying them to promote ACR.
Not for the first time the ACR poker room is caught up in controversy, however this time it would appear that they are perhaps the victims of the scandal too.
Over the weekend several prominent streamers with one foot in the poker industry called out ACR for not paying them for streams they did over a year ago. This included chess star Alexandra Botez and gamer Ludwig:
ACR hasn’t paid out dozens of creators for sponsored streams from well over a year ago, myself included. ACR contracted @EndGameTalent and blames them for ripping them off. While that complicates things, I spoke with ACR CEO who promised to make things right but instead ghosted.… https://t.co/3mAXMESe0u
— Alexandra Botez (@alexandrabotez) August 24, 2024
However, it appears that their issue was with poker talent agency Endgame Talent, which is owned by former Twitch Poker boss and two-time bracelet winner Scott Ball. ACR issued a statement to poker.org saying that Endgame Talent was responsible for paying the streamers after ACR paid them.
Botez also confirmed that Endgame Talent said they would file for bankruptcy if she attempted to take legal action against them (the Endgame Talent website went down on Monday and has not come back online).
The whole story was chronicled by the OnlyFriends Podcast (below) which included a surprise appearance by ACR boss Phil Nagy, who called in mid-show. He confirmed that ACR had paid $30 million for ‘influencers’ but would not say how much of that was to Endgame Talent. He also offered to make the affected influencers whole, on the proviso that he gets a 50% reduction on a second stint of promotion by them.
Ball has not made any official statements, however, he has sporadically replied to some of the above articles and tweets.
@ACR_POKER @WPN_CEO Phil you haven’t been sued because you’re in Costa Rica. Stop playing stupid. You know the US can’t collect a judgement from you even when obtained. Why say no to my offer here? If you’re in the right as you claim it’s a free roll.
— Scott Ball (@EndGameScott) August 27, 2024
This is not the first time Scott Ball has been mired in controversy. In 2021 Mike Matusow called out Ball and accused him of colluding with friends in a private game, cheating Phil Nagy and gambling with $1.1 million that Phil Hellmuth invested in his company. Nagy and Hellmuth defended Ball at the time. Also around the same time, Doug Polk and Parker Talbot also called out Ball for being shady.
Will this story escalate? Let us know in the comments: