Rob Zacny Posted October 21, 2015 Esports Today October 21, 2015:The Prime of LifeRob and Andrew encounter a StarCraft matchfixing scandal with a shocking lack of surprise and explain why, unless more bad news breaks, this isn't such a huge deal. Rob calls Prime the "Springtime for Hitler" of Progaming teams. Rob and Andrew appreciate the stylishness of an Origen victory in League of Legends but feel grim inevitability around SK Telecom, then try and understand Secret's secret as they bounce back from The International and win an MLG event.StarCraft 2, Dota 2, League of Legends Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes Opening Segment: StarCraft matchfixing scandal 10:17 - League of Legends 21:43 - Dota 2 27:22 - Esports Tomorrow Crib Sheet: Investigators' report on match-fixing via TeamLiquid Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eRonin Posted October 22, 2015 Really disheartening to hear about the matchfixing stuff going on. BUT on the plus side, it doesn't seem to be as pervasive as the Brood War matchfixing that happened with Savior, etc. Hopefully the upcoming release of LotV will push it aside and make a fresh start for competitive StarCraft 2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sclpls Posted October 22, 2015 I have a slightly different take on the whole situation of what is up with Team Secret. First, it's worth pointing out that every time Secret and EG have faced off against each other in the grand finals the final score has always been 3-1 in Secret's favor. Perhaps I'm forgetting a tournament, but this was true for the Summit 3, ESL One in Frankfurt, and this MLG Tournament. Puppey is such a legendary player it's entirely possible he's kind of gotten into the head of PPD, and so Secret end up with these vastly favorable drafts. Another interesting thing about these two teams is that Secret has struggled against top tier Chinese teams, while EG seems has similar problems when playing against top tier Western teams. This tournament repeated that pattern with EG getting demolished by (monkey) business and Secret, while Secret couldn't figure out how to deal with the aggression from CDEC (at ESL ONE NY they cheesed CDEC with some Brood picks, but CDEC learned their lesson here and managed to get a draft that allowed them to play their game). It is also worth pointing out that yes, this is a completely different Secret lineup besides Puppey. Most of the team consists of Cloud 9 veterans. That was a team that always underperformed because of team dynamic issues, but the talent of the players was never in question. Then there's w33 who, as stated, is another example of a mid pubstar that seems to have what it takes to excel in the pro scene. His performance against Sumail and Miracle in this tournament should definitely cement his place as one of the greatest mid players in the game at the moment. He has received some criticism for having a limited hero pool, but Sumail received the same criticism when he started playing for EG so I wouldn't take that criticism too seriously for now. Anyway, the point is this new Secret lineup seems just as strong, if not stronger, than the old Secret lineup. Less legendary players for sure, but no less capable of winning tournaments. All that being said, I think of all the Western teams I still probably favor Vega Squadron to win the majors. VG will be playing some matches in Singapore next week so I'm looking forward to seeing what they look like because when the post-TI shuffle happened it felt to me like they were the Chinese team that really came out on top, but as far as I know they haven't played any tournaments yet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ewokskick Posted October 22, 2015 I know EG beat Secret in a Starladder final. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sclpls Posted October 22, 2015 Ahh okay, guess I missed that one. At any rate, Secret certainly have a solid track record of beating EG handily. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ewokskick Posted October 22, 2015 Unless I am missing something, Secret beat them at two ESLs and Summits, but lost to them at Starladder, DAC, and in Dotapit. It doesn't really seem like a one sided track record to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sclpls Posted October 22, 2015 Technically my original post was about the two teams facing off in the grand finals, so DAC shouldn't count, although yes it is true that EG beat Secret at DAC. Secret got knocked out at DOTA Pit relatively early on. It was an online tournament which placed Secret at a pretty serious disadvantage being a team with players in North America and Europe. I seem to recall it didn't look like they were trying particularly hard in those games. So I don't think DOTA Pit is a good example, but the other two tournaments are fair points to bring up, and that definitely brings the two teams closer to parity. At which point I think it is fair to say at least that Secret beating EG isn't much of a surprise. Anyway watching these teams play against each other is always a pleasure. I thought the trash talk at the beginning of game 4 was pretty funny. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rincewitch Posted October 24, 2015 Is there a good rundown of the Brood War match-fixing scandal to read somewhere? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jutranjo Posted October 24, 2015 Is there a good rundown of the Brood War match-fixing scandal to read somewhere? There's bits in these two intros http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/final-edits/226236-god-of-the-battlefield-part-1 http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/final-edits/405029-god-of-the-battlefield-part-2 More here http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/Match_Fixing_Scandal Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
