Large eSports matchfixing scandal revealed in Korea. 1 coach and 2 players arrested!

[HarmFull]

 

 

The Changwon Regional Prosecutor's office announced the arrest of twelve individuals in connection with match-fixing and illegal betting in StarCraft 2, including PRIME head coach Gerrard (Park Wae-Sik) and progamers YoDa (Choi Byeong-Heon) and BBoongBBoong (Choi Jong-HyuK), according to a Kookje Newspaper report. Brokers and financial-backers were also arrested, including former progamer and esports journalist Enough (Seong Jun-mo) who acted as a broker. Two the financial backers were ex-gangsters who provided the funds for the betting to occur on illegal websites.

Five professional StarCraft 2 matches were found to have been fixed according to the Prosecutor's investigation. The matches took place in tournaments between January and June of this year, including GSL Season 1 and SKT Proleague Season 1.

Gerrard is charged with receiving 10,000,000 Korean Won ($8,900 USD, all figures are approximate) from Enough to order YoDa to intentionally lose a match in GSL Season 1. Gerrard is also charged with approaching BBoongBBoong about match-fixing, and receiving 5,000,000 KRW ($4,450) from an unnamed "Mr. Kang."

It was confirmed that BBoongBBoong received 5,000,000 KRW to lose a match in the SKT Proleague. 

YoDa was revealed to have intentionally lost four matches across Proleague and GSL. He received 20,000,000 KRW ($17,800) from "Mr.Kang," who he was introduced to through Gerrard. He also received 10,000,000 won from another unnamed "Mr. Han," receiving a total payment of 30,000,000 KRW for losing four matches. Prosecutors said that YoDa received payment for two matches. In the other two matches, he manipulated result while only receiving an offer.

The investigation concluded that YoDa and BBoongBBoong had defended sloppily and failed to play properly against their opponent's attacks, losing losing games that normally would have taken approximately 30 minutes in under 15.

src: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/starcraft-2/496866-yoda-b4-gerrard-banned-for-life-for-match-fixing

 

The coach and players in question were on a team that has been in financial trouble for almost the entirety of 2015. The team was notably performing bad, having a low morale and several notable players left the team predating this statement.

The Korean eSports association (KeSPA) made this official statement regarding this scandal:

 

 

Hello, this is director Cho Man Soo of the Korean e-Sports Association. 

The association opened a disciplinary hearing today. We plan to ban Gerrard (Prime head coach) and YoDa for life and permanently suspend their licenses.

Since 2010, the association has worked alongside the rest of the industry to fight against the illegal betting that has continued to threaten the foundation of e-Sports. It is extremely regrettable that a related incident has occurred again, and we apologize to all of the fans who have shown e-Sports their love and support.

This is the association's understanding of the situation:

Toward the end September, we confirmed that PRIME's Gerrard and YoDa had been arrested and incarcerated by public prosecutors on charges related to illegal betting and match-fixing.

The case is currently under investigation, and as such we expect details to be released at a later time by the Prosecutor's office. The association will actively cooperate in the investigation, and if any others are found to be involved in the case, they will be banned for life regardless of the result of a trial. Depending on the circumstances, the association may sue for damages and/or file charges on grounds of obstruction.

Since 2013, the association has enacted regular anti-corruption education for all head coaches, coaches, and players competing in Proleague. The association also received agreements from coaching staff and players that they could be subject to measures under civil and/or criminal law should they be involved in illegal betting. Furthermore, starting in 2014, we started a program reward those who reported or confessed to illicit activities, and signed an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with the police department's Cyber Bureau, the Korea Communications Standards Commission, and the Korea Internet Self-governance Organization for a clean e-Sports environment.

The association independently learned that Gerrard and YoDa were involved illegal betting from an anonymous source seeking a reward. While investigating the case internally, we learned that the Prosecutor's office had made arrests and were holding an investigation, and we have been receiving legal advice since then. 

The association will pursue strong legal measures based on recent reports, and will be utterly uncompromising should investigators find any hint of connection. Going forward, the association's stance toward illegal betting will continue to be one of zero-compromise, and we will continue to respond strongly to create a healthy e-Sports culture.

The League of Legends team SBENU, which was run by Gerrard, will be run under the association's stewardship, and there will be no interruptions in the operations of the team. 

Once again, we apologize for worrying all of the fans of Korean e-Sports and everyone who works tirelessly for the advancement of e-Sports.

 

Too bad that corruption is already affecting such a young sport!

[ThatOneRussian]

To be fair. whos surprised? Next question who really cares?

[ZetZet]

To be fair. whos surprised? Next question who really cares?

Valve does. They banned every single player who was connected to CS matchfixing from ever playing their game competitively.

[yannickverc]

It was only a matter of time until corruption reached eSports. Too much money for certain people.

[ThatOneRussian]

Valve does. They banned every single player who was connected to CS matchfixing from ever playing their game competitively.

but were not valve. And 99.9999% of players arent affected by this

[zyntaxable]

As a massive fan of Starcraft eSporots this hits quite hard...

[RedSphyxis]

but were not valve. And 99.9999% of players arent affected by this

Korea takes starcraft and esports in general way more seriously than other countries.

 

They're like the hipsters of esports they were already making careers, huge events, and training centers even before esports was a thing

[Doobeedoo]

No fair play, you go away.

[cesrai]

To be fair. whos surprised? Next question who really cares?

Valve ? People who bet ? Veiwers ? Myself I care when I watch tournaments like ESL Dubai or Dreamhack.

[BeyondSmash]

Korea takes starcraft and esports in general way more seriously than other countries.

 

They're like the hipsters of esports they were already making careers, huge events, and training centers even before esports was a thing

Some could establish them as being trendsetters, but I get your point.

[ivan134]

To be fair. whos surprised? Next question who really cares?

Do you pride yourself on posting irrelevant shit? You do this in every thread you post in. Be careful with that edge before you cut yourself.

[NumLock21]

How the heck do you become a coach for some RTS game  I get being a coach for football, basketball, swimming, but for a game.  What do they teach anyway?

[Zah]

How the heck do you become a coach for some RTS game  I get being a coach for football, basketball, swimming, but for a game.  What do they teach anyway?

Like every coach, they monitor your performance and probably your health.

[NumLock21]

Like every coach, they monitor your performance and probably your health.

So they teach you how to click faster?

[JuztBe]

So they teach you how to click faster?

I believe they are like scrum masters.

They are making sure that people are doing their job, trying to hold good atmosphere in team, probably even signing teams for tournaments, etc.

Just a guess, I'm not sure how it is for real.

[MrDynamicMan]

I believe they are like scrum masters.

They are making sure that people are doing their job, trying to hold good atmosphere in team, probably even signing teams for tournaments, etc.

Just a guess, I'm not sure how it is for real.

admin work, most like.

[Slinkey]

So they teach you how to click faster?

Coach helps with strategies and tries to help players become better. Work on their reaction time or make sure they don't make several mistakes what to look out for.

[Misanthrope]

We have performance enhancing drugs, accusations of misogyny and now even match fixing: and they say e-sports are not real sports  B)