Oceanic esports org ORDER enters administration one year after $5.3m investment

The ORDER organization has reportedly entered voluntary administration, after a funding round in 2021 was insufficient to keep it afloat.

ORDER, once one of the largest esports organizations in the Oceanic region, have run out of money and entered voluntary administration, according to a report by The Australian.

'A sad day for e-sports': Melbourne team ORDER has run out of money and its CEO has deactivated his social media accounts, just one year after raising $5.3 million https://t.co/LDfgj57Y6D

— David Swan (@swan_legend) August 16, 2022

One of the most successful esports organizations in the OCE region, ORDER raised $5.3m AUD, or $3.69m USD, in capital last year. They also hired appointed former Melbourne Football Club executive Marc Edwards as the company’s CEO. Edwards has deactivated all social media after the announcement of ORDER’s collapse.

What went wrong for ORDER

ORDER have consistently been one of the highest-performing esports orgs in the OCE region., The 2021 fundraising round was their second – they had also raised $360,000 through crowdfunding in late 2018.

Their most notable rosters included teams in League of Legends and CS:GO – and, according to Swan’s report, the CS:GO team was paid “as much as $750,000 annually”, a number which is “far higher than that paid by other local esports teams.”

Numerous members of staff have begun looking for other opportunities, including Chief Gaming Officer Chris ‘GoMeZ’ Orfanellis. However, former Head of Events Josh Swift confirmed in a tweet that employees will remain employed by ORDER until the end of the administration period.

I should note, as Chris has, that while I won't comment on the business side of things, ORDER is still under administration and thus is open to buyers.

This also means technically we are still employed until such administration ends.

— Josh Swift (@swift_y) August 17, 2022

What happens now

ORDER’s future, and the future of their multiple esports teams, is uncertain.

Graeme du Toit, head of sales and marketing at ESL Australia, has confirmed that ORDER’s League of Legends roster will continue to compete in the LCO Split 2 playoffs. He stated that “fans who have already purchased a ticket to watch the team will still have the opportunity to cheer them on”, despite the org entering administration.

Despite the situation at hand, I want to show our best for the remainder of playoffs and make worlds. If anything, I’m more motivated than ever now. I’m sorry to everyone involved in this; let’s continue to do our best for each other and ourselves now. See you all at Dreamhack ❤️ https://t.co/X71ynfFnFD

— Corporal (@CorporalLeague) August 17, 2022

The future of their remaining esports teams is, as yet, unclear. Their CS:GO roster recently failed to make it out of play-ins at IEM Cologne. Only two days before the report of their entry into voluntary administration, the organization signed rifler Declan ‘Vexite’ Portelli on August 15.

With Vexite, the team secured a spot in the closed qualifiers for the Oceanic RMR, bringing themselves one step closer to qualifying for the IEM Rio Major later this year. However, it’s unclear whether they will continue to compete under ORDER’s name.