Two former e-sports professionals have been on trial in Singapore since yesterday. The 20 and 24 year old gamers are accused of game manipulation and illegal gambling. They are said to have bet against their own team before a tournament and influenced the game accordingly. Both men had already been banned for three years each by the tournament organizer last year due to the accusations.

Investigations by the anti-corruption authority

As reported, among others, by the daily newspaper The Strait Times reports, Singaporeans Malcolm Chung Wai Kiat (24) and Tan Shern Ryan (20) were charged with corruption and unauthorized remote betting. The proceedings followed investigations by the national Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

Chung and Tan were known as “Germsg” and “Dreamycsgo” as members of the now-defunct team Resurgence active in the professional section of the shooter Valorant. The indictment accuses them of tampering with the Epulze Royal South East Asia Cup 2020 the Valorant Ignition Series before. The background was online betting, which was prohibited for Singaporean citizens anyway.

Specifically, he said, the prosecution was referring to a game played on September 22, 2020, in which Resurgence the Japanese team Blackbird Ignis lost with 0:2.

In April of the following year, screenshots had surfaced online suggesting that Malcom “Germsg” Chung had placed bets against his own team on an online gambling site in the run-up to the match.

First hints of the scam had surfaced on Twitter (Source: twitter.com/ CALEL336)

After the match, which was allegedly lost on purpose, he had also boasted to an unknown person that he did not make the slightest effort during the match and that he felt safe as long as the team manager did not become suspicious.

Match fixing: Six team members suspended

Immediately initiated investigations by Valorant owner Riot Games had confirmed the suspicion of fraud and brought further details to light. In June 2021, for example, the games company stated that Chung had not only bet on the outcome of the games he had rigged himself, but had also tried to recruit his teammates for the fraud.

Ryan “Dreamycsgo” Tan then gave Chung SGD 3,000 (about EUR 2,100) to place illegal bets on the rigged match for him. In return, he promised him a commission.

Four other team members would have refused to participate in the scam. However, because they did not report Chung and Tan, Riot Games imposed bans of several months on them as well. A company spokesperson stated at the time:

At the first hearing yesterday (Friday), Tan had said he would now attend weekly meetings of a gambling support group, according to The Strait Times. He also said he has repeatedly taken advantage of offers of addiction help from the state’s mental health institute.

Whether the presented confrontation with his alleged gambling addiction will help the former professional e-athlete in court is uncertain. Especially with regard to illegal gambling, judges in Singapore have often shown harshness in the past.

On this charge alone, the men each face up to SGD 5,000 in fines and six months in jail. Corruption can even carry a fine of up to SGD 100,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both. The next hearing for the gamers is scheduled for September 1.