Arrow Gaming Implicated in Match-Fixing Ring
Within the past few days, eight players (three from Mineski and five from MSI) have admitted that the accusations against them were true and they have been put into preventive suspension as a result of their actions. In addition, they have recieved sanctions from various gaming associations such as TnC Gaming and Beyond The Summit. The following players are not allowed to participate in any of their tournaments:
From Mineski-Dota:
Mark Anthony “Jacko” Soriano
Richard “Paseo” Minowa
Joven “jvn” Pancho
From MSI-EvoGT:
Carlo “Chin” Rivera
Mark “Byb” Gavin
Denver “yNd” Miranda
Patrick “JyC” Pascua
Jo “Jotan” Tan
However, it seems that the fallout is not over yet, as several parties are about to release the findings of their investigations within the day; it is said that at least one Southeast Asian team has also been implicated in the match-fixing scandal.
Arrow Gaming is the most recent squad from South East Asia to be implicated in the string of match-fixing scandals to plague the region. Following an investigation spearheaded by Dota2Lounge, a popular Dota 2 match betting site, more evidence surfaced on Reddit implicating the SEA region The International 4 (TI 4) qualifier champions.
According to Dota2Lounge’s investigations, Fua Hsien “Lance” Wan and Kok Yi “ddz” Liong’s girlfriends have shown suspicious betting against Arrow in their games in Synergy League. Michael Vallejos, one of the alleged masterminds in the string of illegal match tampering, also made similar bets in the same games.
Although the evidence remains inconclusive as of this point, Beyond The Summit’s owners, both David “LD” Gorman and David “GoDz” Parker have removed Arrow Gaming from the SEA qualifiers for The Summit 2 Tournament.
More news as this develops.
UPDATE#1: Arrow Gaming has also been disqualified from Synergy League due to a fixed match against Can’t Say Wips (CSW). Arrow has been at the top of their group with a record of 6-1 before they have been booted from the said tournament. It is currently unknown what will happen to the results that they have gained over the course of the Synergy League.
UPDATE#2: Oleg Skobelev mentioned on his Twitter account that Arrow Gaming will not be punished as a whole; rather, Fua Hsien “Lance” Wan and Kok Yi “ddz” Liong will be permanently banned from playing in the current Synergy League as well as its successive editions.
UPDATE#3: The organizers of the Synergy League have stated that they will ban Arrow Gaming from their tournaments for life due to “their stubbornness and unwillingness to admit to their faults, and instead choosing to cover up their mistakes by faking evidence (which could be a crime in itself)”. The full statement may be seen here.
UPDATE#4: Didi “ddz” Zai issued a lengthy statement on his Facebook account about the matchfixing scandal. He apologizes profusely on behalf of his team and he has stated that he and his teammates will endure the sanctions and penalties that will be given to them. Finally, Zai has stated that “It was an extremely stupid mistake, and we made it worse by doing something we knew was wrong instead of admitting it straight away. ”
UPDATE#5: Joei Chin, the project leader of Arrow Gaming, has issued an official statement on Facebook stating that they are officially terminating Fua Hsien “Lance” Wan and Kok Yi “ddz” Liong’s contracts immediately. He also mentions that the organization will not allow any kind of unethical actions from their players, and he also admits that he has tried to defend his players because he trust them through all these times that they have been together.
UPDATE#6: After further investigations by the management of Arrow Gaming, the remaining players on the team have been dropped for their knowledge and involvement in match-fixing activities.
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