Nikola Paunovic, the former Counter-Strike coach Australian esports organization Grayhound Gaming, says the organization has refused to pay him for seven weeks he spent as the team’s coach earlier this year, a stretch he says included major LANS IEM Sydney and the ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals.





Paunovic originally trialed for the team for two days in April before the team expressed interest in adding him on a more permanent basis, he told DBLTAP. Following a verbal agreement, Grayhound ownership repeatedly avoided giving Paunovic a contract despite his many attempts to discuss the topic. The former coach also alleges that following his attempt to ask for a share of prize pool winnings from the ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals (as a concession for not being paid to that point), Grayhound severed ties with Paunovic.





Paunovic described a successful trial for Grayhound he led just after the Asia Summit event in early April, after which player Chris "dexter"' Nong told him he would discuss contract terms with Grayhound owner William Gray. When asked, Gray told DBLTAP the Grayhound players had since told him Paunovic actually didn’t help the team at all.





Gray also provided a different account of Paunovic’s trial dates and said the players did not have authority to speak on behalf of the organization in regards Paunovic receiving a contract.





The main dispute between Paunovic and Gray organization stems from a misunderstanding about when the “trial” period actually took place, with Paunovic claiming it lasted two days. Therefore, he says, he felt the organization deliberately avoided providing him a contract for his services from the beginning. Gray disputed Paunovic and told DBLTAP that Paunovic knew he was on trial during his entire duration of the team. The two sides have conflicting accounts of many details during Paunovic's time with the team.





Paunovic says he practiced with the Grayhound players for two weeks to prepare for the IEM Sydney qualifier, and after the team advanced to the main event, he contacted Gray to ask about the status of his contract. According to transcripts of conversations provided to DBLTAP, Gray asked Paunovic if the contract could be discussed at IEM Sydney, to which Paunovic agreed as long as Gray listed the preliminary contract terms to avoid confusion. In each of the 22 conversation transcripts between Gray and Paunovic, the word “trial” was never mentioned, despite Gray claiming Paunovic’s entire duration with the team was a trial period. Upon being presented the transcripts, Gray did not respond to multiple requests over three weeks to provide comment or proof the initial agreement with Paunovic was indeed a trial.





Regardless of the nature of Paunovic's status with the team during that time, the former coach has not been paid for any of his time with the Grayhound ​CS:GO, he said.





Paunovic asked Gray to discuss his contract following the team’s elimination at IEM Sydney on May 7, but Gray delayed. Gray confirmed that interaction to DBLTAP but said at this point, the discussion was not pressing because in his eyes Paunovic was still on trial. Paunovic then contacted the Grayhound players to ask them to discuss his contract with Gray out of fear he would never receive one. On May 9, after no progress was made, Paunovic again contacted Gray only for the owner to tell him he was too busy to talk -- another conversation Gray confirmed to DBLTAP.





Having yet to receive any compensation after a month of coaching the team, Paunovic asked for a share of the prize pool from the ESL Pro League Finals, at which Grayhound finished 13-16th. At that point, Paunovic explained, activity in the team group chat died. Paunovic later found out the team created a new group chat that didn’t include him.





Paunovic said he then contacted Oliver "DickStacy" Tierney, and DickStacy explained the sudden lack of communication was because of Paunovic’s earlier prize pool demands. Gray told DBLTAP the sudden change happened because Paunovic asked Grayhound to make flight changes, communicating through players, and attempting to undermine Gray with the players.





Paunovic explained the majority of the team ignored him while traveling to Dallas and also during the event. He said he felt the team intentionally left him out of the game-planning process and in turn decided to not help the team, as it was clear he would not receive compensation. When asked, Gray refuted that claim and said Paunovic never attempted to help the team at any point in Dallas.





When asked if the organization intended to compensate Paunovic for his work, Gray told DBLTAP the amount Paunovic had requested was outside the budget of the organization. He said Pauonovic misinterpreted that he would be paid more than a proposed rate of 800 AUD (About $600) per month by Grayhound. Gray also said Paunovic never had any formal agreement with him or the team, and Paunovic’s alleged "underhanded discussions" with members of the team during his probationary period lost him the opportunity to join as the permanent coach.





This isn’t the first time a Grayhound coach has allegedly not been compensated. According to multiple sources close to the organization, former coach Alex "MAGIKKK"' Langusch spent an entire year with the Grayhound organization without receiving any compensation. Like Paunovic, contract terms were discussed but a contract was never officially presented nor signed. Langusch, who just recently left his coaching position of Chiefs eSports Club, declined comment.





Photo by Dylan Esguerra