Following WCS Challenger – Europe, several players were removed from ongoing Challenger competition due to evidence of win-trading and other offenses. We conducted a deeper investigation into player behavior on the European ladder during the competition period to see if it met the standards set forth in the 2016 WCS Rules, StarCraft II End User License Agreement, and rules published by event organizer DreamHack. That investigation has now concluded, and we present the results below:

DnS, MarineLorD, MajOr Win-trading

During the final hours of the ladder portion of the WCS Challenger – Europe, DnS played three ladder matches with a Terran, barcode-named player. DnS won two out of the three matches. Upon examining these matches and accounts in question, it was found that two players in the top 25 rankings had access to the barcoded Terran account: MajOr and MarineLorD. These matches were win-trades played to increase DnS’s rating without sacrificing either MajOr or MarineLorD’s ladder rank. In addition, the match DnS lost to the Terran barcode-named account appears to be a deliberate attempt to cover their tracks.

MajOr Ladder Behavior

After examining the DnS matches, we expanded our search to all players in the top 25. We identified a significant number of matches by MajOr in which he immediately forfeited the match. A number of other replays were examined, and along with the chat in those games, the records indicate MajOr was deliberately awarding wins. Though suspicious queuing behavior occurred, we cannot prove that any of the players that received free wins directly requested them from MajOr, so we have decided not to list the suspect matches publicly.

We also took a closer look at other matches and players reported to us in addition to those flagged by our internal investigators. In those cases, we found no definitive evidence. Again, we will not be sharing specific matches to preserve the assumption of innocence for those players.

Ruling

DnS, MarineLorD, and MajOr are in violation of Section 6.2.a of the 2016 WCS Rules, and additional violations of Section 1.A.iv of the StarCraft II End User License Agreement occurred as well.

• All accounts involved with these instances of win-trading will be closed.
• DnS, MarineLorD, and MajOr will be suspended from Blizzard-sponsored events occurring on-or-before June 30 (players will be allowed to compete in qualifiers or Challengers for events that occur after June 30).
• The 2016 WCS points already accrued by DnS, MarineLorD, and MajOr will be removed from their records. They will be able to accrue WCS points again once their suspension has been lifted. The voided points will still be used for seeding purposes, but not for invites to future events.
• MarineLorD is retroactively disqualified from the French National qualifier of DreamHack ZOWIE Open: Tours, and the spot will be offered to the next-highest placing player.
• Several unnamed players will be warned for their activity on ladder, and Blizzard and tournament administrators will examine their records closely during future ladder competitions.

Additional Comments

We know account-sharing does occur at the highest level of ladder, but we want to make clear that it is against the End User License Agreement for StarCraft II, and will not be tolerated during ladder competitions run or sponsored by Blizzard Entertainment. Rule-breaking or other malfeasance that occurs on shared accounts will be taken as evidence against all parties with access to the account, regardless of who directly took the action in question. We take this stance to prevent pro-level players from ranking up accounts and then distributing them to third parties to manipulate the standings.

Blizzard Entertainment will continue to monitor all esports competitions, especially ones we sponsor or run directly. As a core part of the StarCraft II experience, we take behavior on the ladder very seriously. We reserve the right to escalate our responses to these issues in order to discourage future ladder manipulation. Ladder-integration into the World Championship Series this year has had many positive effects for viewers and players alike, but in order to keep the ladder as a method of qualification, we must remain vigilant against unfair manipulation.

Lessons Learned

For future seasons of WCS, we will ensure there is enough time to conclude a full investigation of player behavior after ladder competition has concluded, so we do not have to issue preliminary results. We will consider additional rules about replay saving, and match forfeits for future competitions as well.