The Chinese esports scene has recently garnered attention due to a series of events, including high-profile show matches and match-fixing allegations.
Former Team Spirit carry Ilya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk visited renowned Chinese player Lu "Somnus" Yao. While in Shanghai, Raddan recorded a short video on Somnus's computer and shared it on his Telegram channel with the caption: "This is just [shock], where I am." Later, he appeared on Somnus’s livestream, greeting the Chinese audience. Mulyarchuk and Yao also participated in a star-studded show match, captaining their respective teams.
The show match between Team Yatoro and Team Turtle ended with a 2-1 victory for Somnus’s team. The first game went to Yatoro’s squad, but in the decisive round, played to two points, Somnus and Chalice’s team emerged victorious. The team line-ups were as follows:
- Team Yatoro: Yatoro, Xm, Xxs, Pyw, Poloson.
- Team Turtle: Monet, Somnus, Chalice, Fy, Siamese.C.
At its peak, Yatoro’s stream reached 254,000 concurrent viewers. According to some analysts, the total audience for the matches might have exceeded two million viewers.
In addition to the show match, Yatoro attended the Counter-Strike 2 Major to support the Team Spirit roster and participated in an autograph session.
Meanwhile, a scandal erupted at the ESL One Bangkok 2024 tournament involving the Chinese team Gaozu. A well-known insider reported allegations of match-fixing, leading to the cancellation of some bets. Rumours suggest that Asian bookmakers refunded wagers placed against Gaozu. Anonymous sources also claim that ESL has launched an investigation into the matter.
Furthermore, it was revealed that Wang "Ame" Chunyu recently signed with Gaozu. However, any connection between Ame and the alleged scandal remains unconfirmed. Most experts doubt that a team featuring top-tier players like Ame would risk their reputations by engaging in match-fixing.