diff --git a/build.sbt b/build.sbt
index 743eafcf..d9ad277f 100644
--- a/build.sbt
+++ b/build.sbt
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ lazy val core = project
     libraryDependencies ++= Seq(
       "com.github.ornicar"     %% "scalalib"                % "7.1.0",
       "com.sksamuel.elastic4s" %% "elastic4s-client-esjava" % "7.17.4",
-      "com.typesafe.play"      %% "play-json"               % "2.9.4",
       "joda-time" % "joda-time" % "2.12.7"
     )
   )
diff --git a/modules/core/src/main/scala/ESClient.scala b/modules/core/src/main/scala/ESClient.scala
index 0d28adc9..3219b852 100644
--- a/modules/core/src/main/scala/ESClient.scala
+++ b/modules/core/src/main/scala/ESClient.scala
@@ -3,9 +3,10 @@ package lila.search
 import com.sksamuel.elastic4s.ElasticDsl.{ RichFuture => _, _ }
 import com.sksamuel.elastic4s.fields.ElasticField
 import com.sksamuel.elastic4s.{ ElasticClient, ElasticDsl, Index => ESIndex, Response }
-import play.api.libs.json._
 import scala.concurrent.{ ExecutionContext, Future }
 
+case class JsonObject(json: String) extends AnyVal
+
 case class Index(name: String) extends AnyVal {
   def toES: ESIndex = ESIndex(name)
 }
@@ -25,18 +26,18 @@ final class ESClient(client: ElasticClient)(implicit ec: ExecutionContext) {
       q.countDef(query)(index)
     } flatMap toResult map CountResponse.apply
 
-  def store(index: Index, id: Id, obj: JsObject) =
+  def store(index: Index, id: Id, obj: JsonObject) =
     client execute {
-      indexInto(index.name) source Json.stringify(obj) id id.value
+      indexInto(index.name) source obj.json id id.value
     }
 
-  def storeBulk(index: Index, objs: JsObject) =
-    if (objs.fields.isEmpty) funit
+  def storeBulk(index: Index, objs: List[(String, JsonObject)]) =
+    if (objs.isEmpty) funit
     else
       client execute {
         ElasticDsl.bulk {
-          objs.fields.collect { case (id, JsString(doc)) =>
-            indexInto(index.name) source doc id id
+          objs.map { case (id, obj) =>
+            indexInto(index.name) source obj.json id id
           }
         }
       }
diff --git a/play/app/src/main/scala/controllers/WebApi.scala b/play/app/src/main/scala/controllers/WebApi.scala
index f5c4c8b4..0fa99d82 100644
--- a/play/app/src/main/scala/controllers/WebApi.scala
+++ b/play/app/src/main/scala/controllers/WebApi.scala
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ class WebApi @Inject() (cc: ControllerComponents, client: ESClient)(implicit ec:
 
   def store(index: String, id: String) =
     JsObjectBody { obj =>
-      client.store(Index(index), Id(id), obj) inject Ok(s"inserted $index/$id")
+      client.store(Index(index), Id(id), JsonObject(Json.stringify(obj))) inject Ok(s"inserted $index/$id")
     }
 
   def deleteById(index: String, id: String) =
@@ -65,8 +65,11 @@ class WebApi @Inject() (cc: ControllerComponents, client: ESClient)(implicit ec:
 
   def storeBulk(index: String) =
     JsObjectBody { objs =>
+      val jsonObjs = objs.fields.collect { case (id, obj) =>
+        (id, JsonObject(Json.stringify(obj)))
+      }.toList
       Chronometer(s"bulk ${objs.fields.size} $index") {
-        client.storeBulk(Index(index), objs) map { _ =>
+        client.storeBulk(Index(index), jsonObjs) map { _ =>
           Ok("thx")
         }
       }