Match-fixing is often rumored in plenty of sports, with the most recent controversy surrounding tennis.
But with the emerging popularity of e-sports, along with the money that has started to pour into it, players are beginning to partake in match-fixing.
In fact, Valve announced that 21 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players had been permanently banned from professional gaming events, according to Tech Crunch. The players were accused of participating in match-fixing back in 2015. Their accounts were investigated following a match, where Valve learned that players exchanged high-value items after the match.
Of course, it’s not just limited to one game, according to Tech Crunch:
DOTA 2, Valve’s second most popular competitive game, has also seen its fair share of scandals. Back in 2013, a Russian player named Aleksey “Solo” Berezin bet against his own team in a major event and won $322. Since then, the number “322” has become synonymous with bad plays and is a common nickname for players who deliberately throw away a game for money.
A similar 322 scandal came into the spotlight back in 2014 after MSI Evolution and Mineski, two popular DOTA 2 teams from Philippines, were accused of match fixing. The matches were played between Team Immunity and Mineski and another between MSI and Mineski. Since these were Star Ladder games, both teams found it more profitable to trade the playoff spot for money.
Because of the widespread fixing, Valve has been strong in their punishments, handing out permanent bans, and setting examples to deter other players from trying similar tactics.
The biggest scandal this year happened in South Korea, per Tech Crunch:
The latest scandal happened in South Korea, where a famous eSports athlete hatched an ingenious plot to increase earnings through match-fixing. The player is none other than Lee “Life” Seung Hyun, a favorite for this year’s season of World Championship Series StarCraft II, and inarguably one of the best StarCraft players in the world.
“Life” was detained by police for several hours and was also questioned by match-fixing investigators for his alleged involvement in illegal betting and match-fixing.
While Valve’s harsh bans have certainly been effective in scaring players from match-fixing, not everybody thinks it’s the best idea. “With an issue as severe and delicate as match fixing, you really need to operate on a case by case basis,”said Richard Wells, Founder and Owner of H2K Gaming told Tech Crunch. “In principle, I agree with the lifetime bans that Valve issue, but at the same time if you don’t have a sufficient handle on the specifics then justice is still not always served.”
Wells added, “I feel that Valve has perhaps not quite got this balanced correctly yet but they have certainly created an effective deterrent.”
There’s no disagreement in the industry, though, that incidents need to be investigated. But with e-sports still somewhat in development, precedents and strategies are still being set.