Carlos Ortiz admitted Friday that the future of LIV Golf looks bleak, now that the Saudi group that bankrolled it said it will stop paying the bills.

“It’s looking a little bit tough, hopefully there’s a way forward,” Ortiz said following his second round at the BMW International Open in Germany, a stop on the DP World Tour.

“I mean, I honestly don’t know all the situation, but it’s not looking great, obviously, as we all know. That’s a shame. I’ve really enjoyed my time playing all around the world and it’s been awesome playing with my team.”

Ortiz, a 35-year-old from Mexico, has one LIV Golf win (LIV Golf Houston, 2024) and one PGA Tour victory (Houston Open, 2020). He joined LIV in 2022.

He said Friday that should LIV cease operations after the 2026 season, he knows he will come through just fine.

“We’ll see what happens, you know, but whatever happens, I’m sure I’ll find a place to play and, for me, it’s just about playing golf,” said Ortiz, a member of the LIV team Torque GC. “If I can start coming to places like this and seeing new places, then it will be great. For me, whatever happens is totally fine.”

After 36 holes at the Golfclub Munchen Eichenried in Munich, Ortiz was in a three-way tie for second place on Friday at 10-under after back-to-back rounds of 67, one shot behind the leader.

Joaquin Niemann of Chile, captain of Torque GC, struck a much more hopeful tone when he spoke on Friday. He told bunkered.co.uk that he plans to honor his LIV commitment in 2027.

“I know for sure he (Scott O’Neil, LIV CEO) is doing the best job he can to raise the money and keep getting the product that we have — which I think is the best,” Niemann, 27, said.

“Coming and seeing the difference on DP (World Tour) to what LIV has, LIV is great. But, yeah, hopefully we can get the money and please the fans who hope we keep going.”

–Field Level Media

Hanwha Life and G2 Esports earned wins on Friday as action in the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational bracket stage got underway in Daejeon, South Korea.

Hanwha Life swept Secret Whales in a Round 1 upper-bracket match, winning in 26, 28 and 30 minutes. Geon-woo “Zeka” Kim of South Korea paced the victors with a 20-2-13 kills-deaths-assists ratio.

G2 Esports had to rally for a 3-2 win against Top Esports, who took a 2-0 lead with wins in 34 and 32 minutes. G2 answered with wins in 27, 41 and 36 minutes, led by Rasmus Borregard “Caps” Winther of Denmark with a 34-19-33 KDA ratio.

All matches are best-of-five in the $2 million tournament, which concludes on July 12 with a top prize of $500,000. The winner of the grand final also qualifies for this fall’s 2026 World Championship.

Play continues in the double-elimination bracket stage Saturday with two more Round 1 matches: LYON vs. FURIA and Bilibili Gaming vs. T1.

2026 Mid-Season Invitational prize pool:

1. $500,000

2. $300,000

3. $240,000

4. $200,000

5-6. $160,000

7-8. $110,000

–Field Level Media

The Charlotte Hornets are acquiring forward Dorian Finney-Smith and three second-round picks from the Houston Rockets, ESPN reported on Friday.

The Hornets are receiving the Memphis Grizzlies’ 2027 second-rounder as well as the Rockets’ 2028 and 2033 second-round selections.

The move gives Houston some roster flexibility and creates a $13 million trade exception, while Charlotte now has stockpiled 20 second-round picks over the next seven years, per ESPN.

Signed in June 2025 to a four-year, $53 million deal, Finney-Smith was largely ineffective during his lone season with the Rockets. He averaged 3.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in 37 games (one start) in 2025-26.

Finney-Smith, 33, has averaged 8.0 points and 4.4 rebounds in 628 career games (445 starts) for the Dallas Mavericks, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and Rockets.

–Field Level Media