Korean Players Suspected of Cheating

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KeSPA, the governing body of eSports in South Korea, has filed charges with the state against various Korean ProLeagues and players alleging thrown games to benefit illicit gambling rings. Among those suspected of engaging in the activity is well-known Korean Pro-Gamer sAvioR, a long-time Zerg player and previous World Cyber Games champion.

This development has cast much of the Korean community into doubt about the legitimacy of many of its players and tournaments, and in a culture that has welcome StarCraft and eSports as part of its entertainment, this is a wake up call. The investigations could throw doubt on any and every match ever played by named players, and will have a negative effect on the industry as a whole.


eSports is a huge enterprise in Korea, with 12 different professional StarCraft teams including one run by the country's air force (made possible by military service requirements). Apparently the industry has also spawned a healthy illicit gambling market, with estimated bribes to some players exceeding $2,000,000.

Sources: Korea Times
StarCraft.org

 

Nooooooooooooooo saviourrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr my heroooooooooooo

 

Yeah, I remember hearing about this on TeamLiquid and Day9 talked about it briefly.
This could potentially devastate the eSports industry, as Korea was certainly the leader of gaming competition.

Also, the thread on TL had a list of names, including Jaedong. Obviously I can't take it as a verifiable list, so it may very well have been false.

 

Wait, I don't get it.. did they cheat ingame?
Or how did it work in idiot terms (allegedly?).

I've always thought that they could hear the commentators or might have a micro earphone in their ear where they would get the "map-hax".

But the gambling thing isn't really cheating IMO. I still believe that it's the gambling that decides what team wins in any sport. You'd get payed to lose perhaps..

For the fans, it's upsetting ofcourse, but as a football player, it's their profession to make money. They don't care about the fans really.. just like in that movie about the guy that was a super football-fan and then quit because he realised it was their profession. I don't think they care about what team they lose against etc etc, the thing is that they get good cash if they do so.

 

They cheated by accepting money to lose games on purpose. They also took money to give up information about their fellow players (who wouldn't accept bribes) like their favorite build orders, etc.

 

So not ingame cheating like we think, but along the lines of "I'll play bad so I lose, tell people who bet beforehand, and win some of the profit from the earnings they get for my loss since they bet on the other person."

Just like in racing where you tell gamblers you're going to lose, and since you're the favorite to winning, there is a higher return rate on the investment on the other person. Thus, the gambler gets more income by betting on the guy who wasn't the favorite to winning.

 

Yes, they are suspected of throwing games.
Think like that Adam Sandler movie, Nine Yards I think it's called. He was actually arrested for throwing games, and I believe you can get arrested in real life as well, because the gambling is illegal.

I believe what is happening is they are throwing games, telling some people that they are, and then collecting a portion of the money the gambler made.

 

That is called match fixing, and not cheating.

And this is bribery. Again not cheating.

Sure what you said is very immoral and deserve all the bad press it gets. But it's nice when we get our terminology correct. .

 

Owned.

 

Well the match fixing is nothing new. This happnes in most sports because IT'S THEIR PROFESSION. As in that adam sandler movie.

The do not give a damn about what team they play for, it's all about the bets and their cut.

 

Not really. They do get payed for their profession, it's not like they need to aid in illegal gambling on the side to support themselves. It is also pretty rare for this to happen in other sports, or they are very good at keeping it under wraps because a lot of professional leagues look into illegal gambling rings, as it is a serious deal.

 

well, there aren't really that many professional sports that are 1 on 1. boxing/fighting... and fixing matches in those sports are known to happen. trying to bribe an entire team and keeping it secret is pretty difficult.

 

You don't have to bribe every player on the team.

Basketball is a 5v5 sport. But the way it plays out... the Michael Jordans and Shaqs contribute so much that they are the linch pins to take out. Even if you paid out the guy who can't make a single free throw, he can still pass the ball to the other team accidentally.

Football is a sport that heavily relies on working as a team. A QB needs receivers to get open, A halfback needs linemen to make a hole, even a star offense needs a decent defense... if not for stopping the other team form scoring; but even for good field position on the next drive.
But, what if you bribed Joe Montana or Brett Farve to drop the ball on the snap or throw incompletes all game? wouldn't matter if Jerry Rice was wide open in the endzone and Joe had a strong pocket to throw from. Joe can **** everyone's brilliant efforts easy. He is holding the ball.

Professional athletes don't care about if they win or loose because they get paid anyways?
Absolutely retarded.
No matter what sport, these people have been doing it their whole lives. I can't say all, but I would imagine a fair amount have a love for the game. They hold their sport as a part of their identity. Some of them may even have respect for their teammates who busted their asses all their lives to be champions.

Money is not the greatest motivator to all people...especially not to those who already make multi-millions per year.

 

Cheating = not illegal
Bribery = Illegal

Well at least this'll crack the behemoth which is the SC Korean gaming body (i've forgotten its name). So blizzard can once again try to get them to play SC2 and not just use Brood War for free.

 

But breaking it can hurt chances of SC2 become as famous as SC. Since there is no guarantee that another group would replace it.

Combine that with the fact that the game raters in Korea are giving the game a Adult Only rating will make it hard for any progaming group to form, unless Blizzard appeals to have the rating changed.

 

KeSPA most likely gave them the AO rating to assert control because they've been threatening them that they would and could do so for a long time now if their demands were not met.. Demands were not met, AO rating was given. An appeal will do nothing. They'll mostly likely have to delay the game to 2011.

Which, indeed, could cause problems with StarCraft 2's progaming .. or it could have no effect since the progaming probably wouldn't have gotten serious until a few more patches and expansions in.

 

Delaying the game would probably be a poor strategy. If the rating is indeed unjustified under Korean laws, then Blizzard should push the game through and watch as the Koreans squirm under an "illegal" market created by a superior product.

Can't fight off new stuff forever... sorry...

 

How have they done to create $2,000,000 of gain ?

 

Hansie Cronje, a South African cricket captain, was found guilty of match-fixing, for huge amounts of cash.

Cricket is a 11-on-11 game, and he only had 2 or so cohorts. 3 people in an 11-man team is enough to throw the game. It does not have to be a 1-on-1 sport.

 

never said it was impossible, just harder. it would require a bigger investment to guarantee an outcome, unlike a 1v1. and fixing in 1v1 sports is far more common than in team games.