Team Liquid is reporting that up to eleven people have been arrested in Korea in association with allegations of match-fixing and illegal gambling on StarCraft II matches.
A statement released yesterday by the Korean eSports Association (KeSPA) names one of those arrested as Park Wae-Sik, head coach of the pro team Prime. Another named is Choi “YoDa” Byung Hyun, a pro gamer and member of Prime.
An investigation by KeSPA and Korean authorities found that at least five pro StarCraft II matches held earlier this year were affected, with Park and unnamed players alleged to have received between $US4000-$US17,000 per match, while Team Liquid translates (via Korean sources) that brokers and gamblers are “said to have made in the region of 40,000,000 won ($48007.68) and 30,000,000 won ($35663, rounded up), respectively.”
KeSPA’s statement says that not only will any parties found guilty be banned for life (Park and YoDa have already received this punishment), but that the organisation will be pursuing legal action like suing for the damages inflicted on eSports’ reputation.
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One response to “StarCraft II Match-Fixing Scandal Leads To Arrests & Lifetime Bans”
Not surprised. Prime went like 0-7 last round in Proleague and while they’re a pretty miserable team now, there were some serious WTF moments and calls there where plenty wondered if the match was fixed or not. I’m shocked MKP wasn’t somehow involved in all this after that infamous Byul game.