StarCraft 2 Match-Fixing Scandal: 11 arrested, Lifetime Bans handed out

The world of eSports has been rocked by an illegal gambling and match-fixing scandal in the game StarCraft 2. One coach, two professional gamers and 8 other people have been arrested in South Korea over the matter.

The office of the Changwon Regional Prosecutor arrested head gaming coach Gerrard (Park Wae-Sik) as well as pro players YoDa (Choi Byeong-Heon) and BBoongBBoong (Choi Jong-Hyuk).

Aside from those directly involved in the sport, financial ers, brokers, a programmer and an eSports journalist were placed under arrest. As reported by “TeamLiquid,” two of the financial ers are gang who made negations through illegal websites.

Tech Times explains that this was a t effort by the Korean eSports Association (KeSPA) and Korean authorities to uncover the illegal gambling and match-fixing. The investigation reveals that this cheating scandal may have affected at least five StarCraft 2 matches throughout the year.

Coach Gerrard, who headed team “Prime,” and several unnamed players are believed to have made a fortune through the match-fixing, collecting between US$4,000 and $17,000 per match. The gamblers and brokers made even more, earning between $30,000 and $40,000 for each fixed match.

Gerrard and YoDa have already been banned for life from StarCraft 2 competitions. KeSPA warns that all other parties who were found to have participated in the illegal gambling/match-fixing will also be banned. Additionally, KeSPA will be suing those who tainted the game.

Other punishments that may be handed down as the investigation continues include pro-gaming licenses being revoked, meaning guilty players/coaches won’t be able to participate in Korean eSports of any kind.

Match-fixing is not totally unheard of in athletic sports like baseball, football and soccer. However, this is the first big instance of match-fixing in eSports. The incident could lead to widespread changes that ensure such a scandal doesn’t happen again.

Overall, eSports is one of the fastest-growing activities in the world. Games like StarCraft 2, which has millions of followers worldwide, have spawned into mini industries built around competitive gaming. The sport has grown so big that ESPN 2 now broadcasts matches on a regular basis. So it’s highly important that the industry keeps clean in order to continue this accelerated growth.