The finals between Curse and Dignitas this weekend have created quite a stir. There are a wide range of opinions flying around, and mine would only add to the chaos. Instead, I'd like to try to throw some facts and objective analysis into the mix.
The first and most important fact is that while this is League of Legends' first major match-fixing incident, it is not the first (nor will it likely be the last) case of match-fixing in eSports. StarCraft, StarCraft 2, and even Counter-Strike have all had match-fixing scandals in the past. Match-fixing is as problem for all eSports, not League of Legends specifically.
Second, match-fixing is damaging to any sport, but particularly eSports. Currently eSports are attempting to gain mainstream traction. Whenever an incident of this nature occurs it undermines the credibility of eSports and the organizations associated with them. We are still in the crucial developmental phase of eSports, and scandals like this roll back the efforts of thousands of people.
Finally, League of Legends is currently in an especially sensitive position as an eSport. It currently dwarfs all other eSports in terms of viewership, and in many ways is doing for eSports in North America what everyone hoped StarCraft 2 would do. It's also taken off like wildfire in Korea, the home of eSports. League of Legends is, in many ways, the eSports leader worldwide, which means anything adverse that happens in its competitions can have far ranging impacts.
So while it's unfair to ignore the history of match-fixing in eSports when considering the events of this weekend, League of Legends is naturally under greater scrutiny than other games due to its privileged position and the tenuous situation of eSports. Despite the small scope of this incident it is nonetheless a big deal because of the context.
In the long run I don't believe this particular case will do more than provide fodder for meaningless "DotA vs LoL" or "LoL vs SC2" discussions, but had this been a higher profile event or involved throwing matches rather than simple prize-splitting and ARAMs it could have been much, much worse.
side note. No proof of any wrong doing has been brought forth at this time. MLG has said that the issue was not the ARAM, but because the teams decided to split the winnings. Based on the rules that MLG themselves posted, this was not against the rules. You watched all the games, can you say that one team threw any of the matches?
ReplyDeleteAgreeing before hand to split the winnings was... probably not the best, but MLG was caught with its pants down as it did not have a set rule for this. It is one thing to throw games so one team wins over the other, but just saying that, win lose or draw, the prize money will be split is a totally different thing.
With what was at stake, neither team could really afford to throw the matches, and from what I watched, neither team did.
This was too heavy handed and knee jerk reaction to this situation that leads many, especially since MLG has not come out with any proof, to speculate that it's over the ARAM and the embarrassment that MLG has felt over this display.
Curse has come out with 2 statements apologizing for the ARAM, but not admitting to any wrong doing like match fixing. Dignitas has come out with a statement saying that their team may have engaged in misconduct and they would investigate.
Until everything is out, which is what needs to happen for this game to be taken seriously as a sport, then all speculation needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
A lot of things on both sides were handled very poorly, from the ARAM, which was unprofessional, to the instant DQ and the hammer coming from MLG and RIOT folks. Something as major as this should have at least been investigated more thoroughly before being made public.
One more thought, disregard the money thing, prize money splitting and or sharing is something that happens in any sport from the NFL to eSports and MTG tourneys. So long as neither team throws a match, what a team does with it's winnings is their business. One thing that got me, if they did fix the matches like MLG said, why did Curse win? They stood to gain nothing for winning, while Dignitas stood to gain a rank 2 and better pairing in the coming regionals.
ReplyDeleteBah...