Cases of cheating in e-sports

Cheating is a problem that affects many sectors. From the corporate world to sports, new cases are appearing every day. In recent years, it is the world of e-sports that has revealed several cases of fraud. What is it and what is the extent of this scourge in e-sports?

The involvement of professional players

In their quest to win, some professional e-sports players are indulging in match tampering. Such is the case with Jae Yoon aka Savior and Seung Hyun aka Life, two highly talented professional players who have amassed thousands of dollars over the course of their careers. Yet behind this success, there are cheating scandals that tarnish their reputations.

They were exposed at StarCraft tournaments, one in 2010 and another in 2016 where several games were rigged. The goal was (and often is) to lose a match so that eSports bettors win their rigged predictions. As a result of this discovery, both players receive multiple sanctions up to and including a lifetime ban from eGaming. They are nonetheless the first to be caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

Summary of cheating cases in the history of e-sports

Frequently, during e-sport championships, investigations are carried out in an attempt to stop the numerous match-fixing schemes used by participants. For example in 2013, a report of investigations uncovered a team's coach who tried to convince his team to lose during the Spring 2013 Ongamenet Championship. To satisfy this demand, one of the team's players knowingly loses a match and is exposed. In retaliation, a trial was opened to decide their fate.

Similarly in 2015, the e-sports betting site Pinnacle refunded all bets made on a match after discovering that it was rigged. As the match was identified by the fraud prevention team as unfair, bets on the match were cancelled to ensure fairness in e-sports.
Despite the efforts of the competent e-sport authorities to curb the phenomenon of cheating, it is noticeable that it is spreading to new horizons.

Incidents related to the organisers

Since cases of fraud are not specific to one group of people, they are also noticed among some organisers. For example, the South Korean broadcasting channel MBC deliberately changed the game's cards in its favour to the detriment of its opponents. Caught red-handed, this move forever discredits the game Warcraft III in South Korea.
There are also cases of greedy team promoters who bet against their teams losing to opponents. Once their charade is exposed, they are kicked out of several e-sports events.

Is cheating in eSport that bad?

Firstly, it should be recognised that cheating is not common in e-sports. Secondly, it is unlikely that matches will be corrected when cheating occurs. Finally, the exponential growth of eSports makes such mishaps less viable.
In addition, the fact that these games are played in the presence of the referees limits antics. The multiple reforms established will make players less susceptible to fraud.

The role of esport publishers

Faced with this scourge, the ESport federators are determined to react as quickly as possible to protect the integrity of e-sports. As you have noticed above, they are setting up investigations to ensure the veracity of the rigging accusations. Following the results of these, they apply the appropriate sanctions to each situation.

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