Prime team members Gerrard and YoDa have been banned for life from the StarCraft 2 professional team after being involved with a series of match-fixes and illegal betting moves. They are two people among a further ten who are part of the elaborate fixing scandal.
Gerrard – Prime’s team coach – was revealed to have ordered player YoDa to intentionally lose matches in order to allow a series of fixed bets to occur. The payment for this was provided by esports journalist Seong Jun-mo (AKA Enough) and two ex-gangsters.
The matches took place in tournaments between January and June this year, including GSL Season 1 and SKT Proleague Season 1.
Gerrard allegedly received 10,000,000 Korean Won (approximately $8,900 US) from Jun-mo in order to have YoDa lose a match at GSL. Gerrard also approached player BBoongBBoong in regards to fixing a match, for which he was paid 5,000,000 KRW ($4,450 US) from a “Mr. Kang” to lose a match in the SKT Proleague.
The investigation by the Changwon Regional Prosecutor’s Office and Korean e-Sports Association discovered that YoDa intentionally lost four matches, receiving in total 30,000,000 KRW from various investors as compensation.
The scandal could have originated with Gerrard’s financial problems, with esports outlet Fomos reporting that he was in considerable debt, and had appealed to family and friends for funds.
Overall, betters involved in the scandal have made around 40,000,000 KRW ($35,000 USD), while brokers have netted 30,000,000 KRW ($26,000 USD).
The Korean e-Sports Association issued a statement, saying that “We plan to ban Gerrard (Prime head coach) and YoDa for life and permanently suspend their licenses.”
“The association independently learned that Gerrard and YoDa were involved illegal betting from an anonymous source seeking a reward. While investigating the case internally, we learned that the Prosecutor’s office had made arrests and were holding an investigation, and we have been receiving legal advice since then.”
The statement notes that Gerrard also runs a League of Legends team, which will be run under the association’s stewardship from now on, as to prevent interruptions in the team’s operation.
Overall, up to 11 people have been indicted on the match fixing charges.
Thanks, Team Liquid.