When a sport gets large enough, gamblers will take notice, and eventually players will be tempted to throw games for a quick buck. Similar scandals have hit baseball, college basketball, soccer, and boxing, and now a match fixing scandal has led to the lifetime bans of eleven professional Starcraft 2 players and coaches.
Two of the 11 bans handed down by the Korean eSports Association (KeSPA) have been identified as a player named YoDa and a coach named Gerrard. According to KeSPA director Cho Man Soo, ”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 eSports. It is extremely regrettable that a related incident has occurred again, and we apologize to all of the fans who have shown eSports their love and support.”
Back in 2010, Blizzard severed ties with KeSPA over a similar scandal, which also led to the bans of 11 Starcraft 2 players and coaches. The studio condemned KeSPA, stating the sports body didn’t “respect” the IP. The two sides have continued to feud, as Blizzard wants a cut from the broadcasters MBC and OGN when they hold professional tournaments.
In 2013, a DOTA 2 team got banned for match fixing, and Valve banned players for fixing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive matches earlier this year.
