UPDATED 09:30 EDT / DECEMBER 25 2015

NEWS

Drugs, extortion and video games: Esports controversies of 2015

As more and more money becomes tied up in the growing esports industry, scandals are only going to become more commonplace.

This year alone there have numerous examples of cheating and match fixing, but there were a handful of scandals that not only caught the attention of the esports community but may also shape the direction of the industry itself in the coming years.

This is not a spectator esport

Spectate Faker

It would not be an exaggeration to say that esports would never have grown into the monster it is today without livestreaming, and no site has been more instrumental in popularizing game streaming than Twitch.

Of course, a few competitors have popped up in the space, including the esports-focused Azubu, which has made exclusive streaming deals with several prominent pro gamers. One such gamer is League of Legends player Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, who at one point had been estimated to be worth $1 million.

As part of his deal, Faker exclusively streamed his games on Azubu, but within a short amount of time, someone else created a “SpectateFaker” account on Twitch, which streamed Faker’s games using League of Legends’ built-in spectator mode. The channel quickly became incredibly popular, and Azubu sent a DMCA takedown notice to its creator demanding that it be taken down.

The channel owner refused, stating on a Reddit thread that he would only stop streaming if he received a DMCA directly from Riot Games, as he did not believe Azubu had any legal authority to force him to stop.

Riot agreed, which is why the developer eventually decided to shut the stream down itself.

“Having looked into the SpectateFaker case, we’ve established two major things,” Riot explained in a blog post. “1) That the DMCA issued by Azubu did not have a legal standing as we, not Azubu, own the gameplay content, and 2) that Faker believes (and we agree) that this stream is harmful to him and to his brand. We’ll be honoring Faker’s request and pursuing a takedown of the stream.”

While the SpectateFaker controversy only directly affected Faker and his viewers, the event has farther-reaching consequences for League of Legends and the esports industry in general. Much like certain networks have exclusive deals with sports organizations like Major League Baseball, Riot’s decision reinforces the exclusivity of certain types of esports content, giving viewers fewer choices for watching their favorite games.

Adderall: The nerd steroid

Every professional sport has its issues with Performance-Enhancing Drugs (PEDs), and apparently that also includes competitive gaming.

Earlier this year, professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player Kory “Semphis” Friesen admitted in an interview that both he and other players on his team used the prescription stimulant Adderall, which is commonly used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), while competing in a tournament.

“We were all on Adderall,” Semphis said at the time. “It was pretty obvious if you listened to the comms. I don’t know. People can hate it or whatever, but tons of people do it.”

While Semphis’ admission was a brief throwaway comment in a YouTube video, it caused a major upheaval in the esports industry, as multiple tournament organizations scrambled to address what was apparently a common practice amongst professional gamers.

A little over a month after Semphis’ comment, the Electronic Sports League (ESL) instituted a new drug-testing policy to randomly screen for PEDs at tournaments.

“As the world’s largest and oldest esports organization, ESL has an ongoing commitment to safeguarding both the integrity of our competitions and that of esports as a whole – we wish to ensure we can provide a fair playing field for all participating players,” an ESL spokesperson said at the time.

Play or I’ll evict your mom

Marcen Wolski - Kori

Match fixing and illegal gambling are bad enough for the reputation of esports, but earlier this year the manager of a professional League of Legends team took things one step further by extorting one of his players into participating in a tournament.

MeetYourMakers (MYM) player Marcin “Kori” Wolski attempted to leave the team, apparently due to unpaid winnings from the previous year, but MYM Manager Sebastian “Falli” Rotterdam threatened to have the player’s mother evicted from her home if he did not continue to play for the team. Unbeknownst to Rotterdam, Wolski recorded the entire conversation on his phone.

“You know your mom signed the contract?” Rotterdam said in the recording. “I will make sure you will lose the house. That’s a promise.”

After releasing the recording online, Rotterdam stepped down from his position as manager and subsequently was permanently banned from holding any role in the League Championship Series (LCS), the official League of Legends tournament organization. MYM also received a €5,000 (nearly $5,500 USD) fine from Riot Games for the incident.

“For Riot, cases like this tread a difficult balance between relying on the contractual relationships negotiated between teams and players to appropriately guide their behavior and using our influence to try and ensure a professional and ethical environment for those parties operating within the LCS ecosystem,” Riot said in its ruling. “Where we feel strongly that unprofessionalism is putting player security at risk, we can and will use our influence to try to ensure that the LCS pro experience is a positive one.”

Photo credit: IMG_0331 via photopin (license)

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