For months, LIV Golf has been fighting to stay afloat after losing its funding, canceling events, and letting go of its employees. Reports had suggested the league was working out a way to survive while keeping its players tied to their contracts. Instead, in a shock move, LIV has filed for bankruptcy as speculated, and it has also set every one of its players free.

BBC Sport has confirmed that LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, September 8, a step the league says is part of a court-supervised restructuring process. The filing was made in the federal court district of New Jersey, where LIV had set up a subsidiary earlier this year. CEO Scott O’Neil had already signaled the shift was coming, writing on LinkedIn that the organization was moving “toward LIV 2.0” and that the league would “look different” going forward.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy doesn’t shut a company down. It protects it while it reorganizes, giving the organization legal breathing room to restructure debt, renegotiate obligations, and continue operating instead of liquidating. BC Partners has been confirmed as the new investor, backing a majority player-owned relaunch next year, while PIF, the Saudi fund that pulled its support, is separately funding the process with $49.6 million in debtor-in-possession financing.

As for how the players are going to walk free: in an unexpected move, LIV Golf is not locking in new terms with its players after filing for bankruptcy. Instead, it is releasing them from their old contracts altogether, though it remains unclear when players would be free to enter discussions with other tours. The existing LIV 1.0 contracts are being settled through the court process rather than left hanging, and players are no longer bound to figure out their future inside the league that signed them.

Days earlier, reports said players were being pushed toward three choices: settle for less money and sign with LIV 2.0, settle for less money and leave for good, or refuse to settle and take their chances as unsecured creditors in bankruptcy court, chasing the full amount owed. All three of those options have now been scrapped. Every player is left with a far simpler decision: stay with LIV 2.0 or walk away, with old debts handled automatically through the court’s creditor process.

This leeway is a boon for players. Despite being free to leave, Jon Rahm has repeatedly said he intends to honor his existing contract, even though he tops LIV’s list of top 30 creditors with an unsecured claim of $7.5 million. He has also been tight-lipped about any future concerns.

“There’s just a lot of things in place, right? There’s a lot of things that could happen and it’s one of those things where time’s gonna tell,” he told BBC Sport ahead of the Irish Open, adding: “I still have a contract with LIV 1.0 that I’m more than willing to fulfil, so like I said, time will tell.”

With this news, he will be able to make a clearer decision about his career going forward.

Similarly, Bryson DeChambeau, one of the league’s biggest earners, is also listed among LIV’s unsecured creditors in the filing. He said at the end of LIV’s Indianapolis event last month that he felt there was “a lot of potential moving forward” and “something fun coming,” and has previously been described as committed to the league’s future, having led a player meeting on the investor situation. Like Rahm, he now faces a clear choice: stay with LIV 2.0, or try to make it on the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour.