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Another 'StarCraft' Cheating Scandal Rocks Korea (playerattack.com)

Posted by timothy on from the abiding-strangeness dept.

dotarray writes: "Five years ago, the professional StarCraft community was rocked by a massive cheating scandal – now it looks like history is repeating, as twelve StarCraft II gamers have been arrested in South Korea over charges of match-fixing and illegal betting." From the article: Those arrested include Gerrard (Park Wae-Sik), head coach of pro gaming team PRIME, and one of his team members, YoDa (Choi Byeong-Heon). ... The games in question, according to the prosecutor's investigation, include five professional-level StarCraft II matches, which were played between January and June 2015 including as part of the GSL Season 1 and SKT Proleague Season 1. Pro-gamer YoDa has been accused of receiving money to deliberately lose matches, while Gerrard stands charged with receiving money from brokers, connecting players to brokers, and suggesting to players that they might like to lose a game or two and get paid.

51 of 95 comments (clear)

  1. What happened to human beings? by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 2

    Video games are just ... games

    Isn't game supposed to be fun?

    --
    Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
    1. Re:What happened to human beings? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Video games are just ... games

      Isn't game supposed to be fun?

      Yeah, as if this kind of cheating (deliberate loss + brokers) never happened in sports. You know, the sports that are supposed to be games as well.
      Takeaway: the fun goes away when there's a lot of money in play.
      I wish there weren't that much money in sports, but it won't change because people want this; you know, panem et circem..

    2. Re:What happened to human beings? by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      Well yes, but the problem with professional versions of anything is fun, is the fact it will need to bring in money, to pay the bills.
      This means the artist will need to paint some marketing material, or draw particular things that make money.
      The musician will need to play the same old song.
      The programmer will need to do some CRUD based B2B app.
      So the professional gamer will need to make money.
      When under pressure people will often set their morals aside. So they will cheat, the substandard drawing, a crappy performance, Crappy code. Or find a way to cheat at the game as so they will make the money.

      Because of this fact, we need to be sure they are safeguards against all levels against cheating and fraud. Someone can be the best guy in the world, but they are not incorruptible. We need to compromise to function in society, however it is too easy to go too far.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    3. Re:What happened to human beings? by RogueyWon · · Score: 2

      Yeah, well, the same could be said for sports, and look at all the crap that's accumulated around those.

      There's money involved in eSports now, both in terms of the prize money, the sponsorship cash and in terms of the associated gambling scene. Where there's money on offer (particularly though not exclusively through gambling), there will be people trying to get their hands on that money via illegitimate means.

      There's always been an ugly side to "professional gaming". I was running a Counter-Strike league back in 2002-3 with no cash prizes (though you could win a year's server rental) and was already seeing early signs of that ugly side. We had teams throwing a tantrum over every loss, and crucially over how losses were reported, because of the impact it would have on "potential sponsors". In some cases, these complaints were coming from teams who I, as an only-slightly-above-average player (I was always more of an organiser than a player) could have beaten 5 vs 1 without breaking a sweat.

      If all of the stuff associated with professional gaming annoys you (like it does me), then the best thing to do is ignore it. The misbehaviour, match fixing and general whining isn't going to go away; chances are, it's only going to get worse. But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter very much for the average gamer. There are a small number of developers who pitch their games at the eSports market (and even some of those, like Blizzard, don't exclusively focus on it), but the rest of the industry mostly ignores it due to high risks and poor commercial returns for developers in most cases.

    4. Re:What happened to human beings? by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 2

      panem et circem..

      I believe the latin phrase you're trying for is "panem et circenses", "bread and circuses", coined by the Roman poet Juvenal around 100 A.D.: "For the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions -- everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses."

    5. Re:What happened to human beings? by parkinglot777 · · Score: 1

      So the professional gamer will need to make money. When under pressure people will often set their morals aside. So they will cheat, the substandard drawing, a crappy performance, Crappy code. Or find a way to cheat at the game as so they will make the money.

      Needing to make money does not need to be unethical. Intentionally lose a game in order to make money is unethical. I am not sure whether it is illegal (in the sense of professional sport). Your reasoning is just an excuse for them.

    6. Re:What happened to human beings? by geekmux · · Score: 1

      Profiting is much more fun than gaming.

      Then stop calling it a game, because it's a business at that point.

    7. Re:What happened to human beings? by CastrTroy · · Score: 1

      I don't think anybody is saying that it isn't wrong. Just that it's going to happen. Not all people are honest. You can still make money by doing things ethically. No doubt about it. But being unethical can also yield money. The path that people choose is up to them, even if you make it illegal.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    8. Re:What happened to human beings? by TheRaven64 · · Score: 2

      wouldn't you want to get paid for your hobby?

      I do! But the problem for these people (as with professional sports players) is that they get paid for something that is superficially like their hobby, but isn't really the same. It's the hobby with the enjoyment removed and replaced with a hyper-competitive need to win.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    9. Re:What happened to human beings? by Njorthbiatr · · Score: 1

      I don't think you realize that these pros play SC for twelve, fourteen hours a day, pretty much seven days a week. And they're already elite to start.

      It's far more serious than American football.

    10. Re:What happened to human beings? by Spy+Handler · · Score: 1

      Also the Roman circus was horse racing oval track, nothing like our circus with clowns and trapeze artists etc. When you say "bread and circuses" I bet a lot of people are thinking about clowns.

    11. Re:What happened to human beings? by nhat11 · · Score: 1

      I don't know, football is suppose to be just a game but see how serious that game is to fans and the players

  2. Re:Dying pro league by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Might as well milk

    MOO !! You starcraft cow! STARCRAFT COW MOO !!

  3. Srsly? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Can only shake my head in amazement.

    Hey, folks, *it's just a computer game*! Have you to get justice & police involved in that too?

    What next? A little military intervention? A little invasion?

    Human masochism knows no limits.

    1. Re:Srsly? by war4peace · · Score: 1

      It's an industry based on a computer game.
      Much like professional boxing became an industry based on a sparring game.

      --
      ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
    2. Re:Srsly? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Sounds like you don't know much about e-Sports, friend.

    3. Re:Srsly? by Viol8 · · Score: 1

      Give it up, just give it up before you make a complete ass of yourself.

  4. Fucking the starcraft ai by 0xdeaddead · · Score: 1

    That is the biggest cheating pile of crap ever.

  5. Old meme by Calydor · · Score: 1

    Only old Korean people cheat at StarCraft.

    Isn't that how it went?

    --
    -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
  6. Re:Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Or remarkably few problems in a society that is so idyllic that it cares deeply about trivialities.

  7. google ‘zerg rush' by mrthoughtful · · Score: 1

    I just googled ‘zerg rush’, and forgot all about the google easter egg..

    Re. the OP, gambling on the outcome of sports is a deep and dark problem that has plagued humanity since the dawn of betting on sports.. Horseracing, athletics, boxing, football, american football, cricket, baseball - Throwing games of Starcraft was an inevitable, predictable continuation of a long standing activity.

    --
    This comment was written with the intention to opt out of advertising.
  8. Re:match-fixing and illegal betting is not cheatin by athe!st · · Score: 1

    Paying someone to lose is not cheating? By what definition of cheating?!

  9. Re:What happened = gambling + sports by elwinc · · Score: 2

    Any time gambling gets mixed with sports you have a mechanism where cheating can get you money. Whether it's the 1919 Chicago "Black Sox" or one of these point shavers gambling always has the potential to lead to sports cheating.

    ... Which makes you wonder why the US professional leagues have invested their own money in fantasy sports gambling sites.

    --
    --- Often in error; never in doubt!
  10. Banned for life? by Alwin+Henseler · · Score: 1

    From one of the linked articles:

    As more names are revealed, more eSports identities will be banned for life, (..)

    Banned from Starcraft for life, you know how serious that is? I mean you might as well shoot them. Their life would be over. They might as well jump off a bridge after receiving that punishment.

    1. Re:Banned for life? by bobbied · · Score: 2

      Don't be too sarcastic here..

      Look, like it or not, *some* of these players do it professionally. They get PAID to play the games and if they get banned it means the loss of their jobs. They will have to go out and find new work now. What kind of work do you think they can get with experience like this?

      This is like a professional sports player getting caught rigging games and getting tossed out of their sport, only in these cases, playing video games doesn't pay all that well and it's doubtful they have enough saved up to live on for very long. You don't have to feel sad for them, but, hey... It's going to be a real shock for some of them having to find real work...

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
  11. Exageration much? by amalcolm · · Score: 1

    A nuclear explosion rocks Korea. Death of president rock Korea ... but this .... ????

    --
    Time for bed, said Zebedee - boing
  12. Re:What happened = gambling + sports by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 2, Funny

    Haven't you heard? Fantasy sports isn't gambling, it's a game of skill! *snerk*

  13. Re:match-fixing and illegal betting is not cheatin by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 2

    Illegal betting is not cheating (although it does encourage cheating), but match-fixing sure as hell is. Just because you haven't subverted the game program doesn't mean you're not cheating.

  14. Re:Rocked? by rmdingler · · Score: 1
    They'll be getting in shape soon enough...Anyone caught with a hand in the cookie jar gets banned for life,

    so at a minimum, playing a game for your job is a thing of the past.

    --
    Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

    Ernest Hemingway

  15. Re:match-fixing and illegal betting is not cheatin by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 1

    When money is involved, paying someone to intentionally "throw" the game, so the other side can profit is most definitely abusing the spirit of the game. Gambling is illegal in most places.

    --
    Money is like cancer; it tends to eventually corrupts everything it comes in contact with. :-/

  16. also throwing games to so you can play a weaker by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    also throwing games to so you can play a weaker player in later rounds is also cheating as well.

  17. Gambling by Stephen+Chadfield · · Score: 1

    Gambling is stupid. Anyone who gambles is already being ripped off.

    1. Re:Gambling by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      Which is about as insightful as saying "people shouldn't commit crimes". It's utterly meaningless, because it ignores the fact that it happens despite your trite statement.

      I can give you a huge list of one line Hallmark throwaway statements like "be nice to one another".

      They, too, are utterly useless in the real world.

      The reality is, people gamble. And in anything where there are winners and losers, someone will always be willing to cheat.

      What's most shocking here is that people are acting like this comes as any form of surprise. Because, really, it was kind of inevitable.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    2. Re:Gambling by Translation+Error · · Score: 4, Funny

      Gambling is stupid. Anyone who gambles is already being ripped off.

      Wanna bet?

      --
      When someone says, "Any fool can see ..." they're usually exactly right.
    3. Re:Gambling by Stephen+Chadfield · · Score: 1

      The reality is that people who gamble are stupid. The house - or whoever makes the rules - always wins. They are the smart guys who wouldn't even be in the game if they weren't winning.

    4. Re:Gambling by bobbied · · Score: 1

      Gambling is stupid. Anyone who gambles is already being ripped off.

      Especially in Illinois where because the state hasn't passed a budget, any lottery winners of over $600 cannot be paid.... People are STILL playing the game though... Gota love those people who are born every min...

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    5. Re:Gambling by bobbied · · Score: 1

      Gambling is stupid. Anyone who gambles is already being ripped off.

      Wanna bet?

      Sure, but I get to hold the money..

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
  18. If there's money, there's cheating ... by gstoddart · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It really is simple: if there is money changing hands, or prestige, or pretty much anything else ... then it will be worth it for someone to cheat, take a dive, or otherwise engage in fixing the outcome.

    It happens in pretty much any endeavor in which people are betting, getting paid, or pretty much anything else which is a reward.

    Why the heck would anybody think video games would be any different?

    This is pretty much basic human nature. Getting all breathless that it happens in a video game seems kind of stupid. It has happened in every other endeavor, why the hell not this?

    You don't go all weepy after you discover it, you start off and say "I bet some crooked bastard cheats". You pass rules about it. You check it. You monitor it.

    But you don't suddenly go "zomg, teh cheaterz" and act like nobody saw it coming. Someone somewhere will always find a way to cheat if there is something to be had out of it.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    1. Re:If there's money, there's cheating ... by kamapuaa · · Score: 1

      Me, too!

      --
      Slashdot: providing anti-social weirdos a soapbox, since 1997.
  19. Re:Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Cough*Deflategate*cough

  20. Re:What happened = gambling + sports by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 1

    It's gambling with an illusion of having some control over the outcome, like the game of blackjack.

    In reality, yes. But if it's classified as a game of chance, it'd be illegal under the online gambling laws. So the owners claim it's a game of skill. Since nobody's tried shutting it down, apparently the government agrees with them.

  21. and in WI you can't play skill tournament for cash by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    and in WI you can't play skill based tournaments for cash any more. (other then the indian casinos) Hell you can't even give replays on pinball games there.

  22. Re:match-fixing and illegal betting is not cheatin by rhazz · · Score: 1

    Have to agree more with the inflammatory OP. To call this cheating would only make sense if you apply the term to the betting part. Nobody cheated at StarCraft, but the book keepers or whoever cheated at betting by fixing the outcome. Article summary is therefore inflammatory. I only clicked because I thought someone was cheating the actual game.

  23. Re:Dying pro league by dysmal · · Score: 2

    MOO !! You starcraft cow! STARCRAFT COW MOO !!

    "There is now cow level"

  24. Re:What happened = gambling + sports by mister_playboy · · Score: 1

    The skill aspect is more about finding players who are undervaluing by the gambling site's rating system than predicting the future of the actual contests.

    A small number of people rake in most of the winnings on these sites, especially since they are allowed into every betting competition on the site.

    --
    Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law ::: Love is the law, love under will
  25. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  26. False summary by reve_etrange · · Score: 2

    The summary is extremely misleading at best. The 12 indicted individuals include one team coach and two progamers only, not 12 gamers as claimed.

    All of the rest of the 12 are brokers or gangsters who instigated the match fixing. One is currently a fugitive in Korea.

    --
    .: Semper Absurda :.
  27. At least they have jobs. by penguinoid · · Score: 1

    If Starcraft cheating can rock all of Korea then Korea has some serious problems that go far beyond Starcraft cheating,

    In America with the current economy, you're lucky if you can get paid to clean toilets. In Korea, you can get paid to play computer games, and do so poorly.

    --
    Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
  28. Re:Really? by guruevi · · Score: 1

    I think if 16 players across teams at the NFL were arrested in the USA, it would be 'rocking' the nation just as much.

    --
    Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
  29. Re:and in WI you can't play skill tournament for c by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    The NFL / NBA have good lawyers. Also the players are not betting on them self's and give paid win or lose.

  30. Re:match-fixing and illegal betting is not cheatin by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 1

    It isn't me you have to worry about, but all the other people you ripped off that just _might_ have something to say about it.