Jonathan “Jonathan” Amaral, founder of Team Apex Gaming, has called the allegations made against him by GodLike Esports owner Chetan “Kronten” Chandgude “completely wrong”. He spoke during a livestream on Kick on 12 November, his first spoken response since the dispute began. Jonathan said he would not address most of the claims in detail. He did not respond point by point to the ownership or salary figures Kronten gave.
Jonathan said he did not like getting involved in such matters and that the statements made “no sense”. He said he had “no idea” what some of the claims referred to. He added that he would only address “a few things”, and that one claim had made him laugh.
Jonathan denies Kronten’s claim about how he reacts to losses
The one claim Jonathan addressed directly concerned his emotions after poor results. Kronten had said on his stream that Jonathan appeared upset on camera after defeats but behaved differently once the cameras were off. Jonathan said anyone who plays sport or esports and comes close to a goal without reaching it would be upset. He said players who lose “won’t dance” afterwards.
He also made a sarcastic remark about money while discussing the claim. Jonathan suggested that Kronten might not have emotions, before adding a reference to “crores of rupees”. He did not name Kronten at any point in the comments.
The response followed an Instagram story Jonathan posted after Kronten’s stream, which read “I choose me, I’m sorry”. The line is from Kendrick Lamar’s song “Mirror”. Jonathan did not explain the story or say whether it was a reply to Kronten.
Kronten’s allegations over GodLike ownership, salaries and Madhur Agarwal
Kronten made the allegations during a livestream in early November. He said management never benched Jonathan at BGIS 2026, and that Jonathan sat out the first day of the Survival Stage because of a shoot. As we covered in our report on Kronten’s claim that GodLike never benched Jonathan, Jonathan had said at the time that the decision was taken in the team’s interest.
Kronten said Jonathan held a 33% ownership stake in GodLike, the second-largest in the organisation. He said someone on Jonathan’s side, possibly his parents, later asked for a 50-50 ownership arrangement. Kronten also said Jonathan asked for a salary of ₹25 lakh a month. None of these figures has been backed by published documents, and Jonathan has not confirmed or denied them.
Kronten said GodLike spent about ₹15 lakh a month on its roster while BGMI was banned in India, rising to about ₹25 lakh after the ban was lifted. He also said Jonathan told him around 28 February that he planned to leave. Jonathan left GodLike in April and later launched Team Apex Gaming.
Kronten also accused Jonathan’s manager, Madhur Agarwal, of passing on information and of taking GodLike players to meetings in Mumbai’s BKC area to discuss joining Team Apex Gaming. He said he gave former GodLike member Hades between ₹10 lakh and ₹15 lakh, and claimed an FIR had been filed. As we covered in our report on Kronten’s full stream and the FIR claim, the FIR’s details have not been made public.
Madhur said in a public message that he would address the matter in detail “at the right time” with facts and evidence. He said he wanted due process to be followed in ongoing legal matters. Team Apex Gaming founding member Shreeman Legend told viewers on his own stream that he did not know enough about the dispute to comment. Hades has not publicly responded to Kronten’s latest claims, and Team Apex Gaming has not issued a formal statement.
