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StarCraft pro players arrested on suspicion of match fixing

StarCraft pro players arrested on suspicion of match fixing

An un-named top StarCraft player has been arrested by Korean police due to allegations of match fixing.

The news comes via local news site Naver Sports that Busan Yeonsei police station has reported that a professional gamer has been arrested on suspicion of using illegal betting site, Toto, in addition to participating in match-fixing in 2017's BEXCO tournament.

Said player won $4,200 (4.5m won) for losing a match on purpose.

In addition, another StarCraft pro has been arrested for running a gambling shop.

Grave consequences

AfreecaTV, the firm responsible for large parts of the Korean StarCraft esports sector has responded to the news, saying that if these accusations are true, the players will be banned.

"The news of match-fixing in StarCraft that broke this morning has caused many fans, players, and organizers to worry," the outfit said, as translated by the TeamLiquid forums.

"We spoke with the people handling the case at Busan Police and confirmed that investigations related to this case are ongoing.

"Once the suspicions are confirmed, the relevant player will be permanently banned from all eSports competitions organized by AfreecaTV and prize money will be confiscated.

"AfreecaTV will always do its best to ensure the integrity of the competition."

This is yet more bad news from the esports scene. Blizzard's Overwatch League was recently hit with a number of scandals involving homophobia, racism and revenge porn.


PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.