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StarCraft Cheating Scandal Rocks Korea
dotarray writes with this snippet: "The largest scandal in e-sports history is currently unfolding in Korea, with revelations that a number of current pro gamers are involved with match setups and illegal betting. While the gamers are unnamed at this point, the story is said to touch many A-list StarCraft celebrities, including sAviOr, Ja Mae Yoon, one of the best-known and most successful players of all time."
Seriously, I was expecting something like a bot ring or involvement in a virus that spread via the game.
Restore the madness of youth's lechery
As part of Korea's human rights laws, it is illegal to release criminals' names - they can only be implied - which means that as the police have now gotten involved, we may never be officially told who was involved in this drama.
You can't know criminals' names in Korea? Kind of weird.
Qxe4
If you want that, go play Maid.
No, seriously, go play Maid, it's an awesome RPG, the PDF version is like $8, and you get to be one of a household full of maids keeping their master out of trouble, beating troublesome NPCs senseless, and chasing each other with chainsaws.
You can also play as a butler, but butlers are boring.
I really like watching commentaries on SC games. I started watching them a few weeks ago and I'm HOOKED.
Now I'm not a great RTS player. And I've never enjoyed watching sports on TV - basketball, football (English or otherwise) or even the way overhyped olympics - I just never cared.
But Starcraft is something I can somehow relate to. Especially Starcraft 2. myself, not being a good player, I see all sorts of strange tricks I wouldn't have seen otherwise.
Micromanagement tipping the results of battles in ways I wouldn't have even imagined. All kinds of strange tricks involved - it's mind-blowing sometimes, and really... really exciting.
The other thing is the commentators are very useful. They call out the strategy, which really helped a not-so-good player like me. you get some insight into their thought processes.
I knew Koreans were into Starcraft, but I didn't know they were THAT into it. I feel kinda sad now. As I see it, it doesn't matter who wins at Starcraft, I just like watching the game and could never imagine placing bets on it.
o hai
Something about Korea's obsession with Starcraft reminds me of cargo cults.
Maybe I am just that ancient, but is it a "sport" to sit in a chair pushing buttons? When I grew up, apparently in the stone age, sport was something that involved not just skill, but physical excellence; even body-building wasn't considered to be a sport, and you wouldn't use the word "athlete" about them either. No wonder the world is coming to an end...
Basketball is much more popular here than it ever was in the U.S.
Also, when I was visiting Japan, baseball was by far the most popular sport, played by just about every boy after school.
The world is a lot bigger than the U.S. and Europe.
Systemd: the PulseAudio of init systems
I've travelled to korea a few times and I love going to a pub (every second shop) and watching the starcraft channel. And the cheap beer. And the cheap, excellent food. And just general good times to be had by all.
Fascinating to watch competitive gaming. Mesmerising.
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Actually, netball requires more tactical thinking than basketball because you're not allowed to move with the ball at all, which makes it slightly more interesting to watch (aside from the fact that it's played by girls). Basketball is relatively common as an amateur sport, but in my experience tends to attract the hypercompetitive element who fail to realise that the point of playing a sport is to have fun.
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I take that back. I read the article, and had no idea of the HUGE following that it has in South Korea.
Sorry about that.