Holy shit guys, and I thought the PPSL (which I was part of) was the worst thing that could happen to players/staffs/casters etc. I suppose this would be the cherry-on-top of the cake when it comes to scamming of the Esports genre.
I'm pretty happy with esports currently blooming as a legit enterprise/business that would have professional players make a living out of it, but as it progresses there are people who would love to get on the bandwagon but in a different light (e.i. scamming aka fuck you Gus)
But what happened here is not only scamming or disorganization. This has something like local thugs trying to fucked up the gaming journalist to write positive things instead all of the negative stuff that happened on the event. Players who didn't get paid for the prize (Moscow5 of CS, some Tekken, SSFIV players) and thieves who stole stuff while players slept in hotels.
When I first heard of the IGC from get_right of SK. I was pretty happy that the Indian people will have their first ever major Esports tournament that could probably boom that industry in their location. But now, this might be a deterrent (just like what happened here) for professional players to go and visit the country incase there's a Legit event with big cash prizes.
Thoughts? I may suggest that pro-organizations need credential checking when it comes to events such as these, also we really need KESPA like global-organization to police people that try to take advantage of the blooming era of Esports.
Damn, I saw that there's a lot of indian players that got scammed as well (in the comments)
Going to quote, a very long post from the CEO himself
Hi all, There are few points which we would like to clear:
1. IGC was our first event. 2. There were many fiascos related to our event but still we pulled it off. 3. We tried our best but couldn't get any sponsorship. Later we found out that whichever company we approached closed the deal because few other prominent figures of the Gaming Industry came behind us to spoil the curry. (Fact told by people from Sony & Nvidia). However, even without sponsors we continued with the event and pulled it off, though not in an expected fashion. 4. For all those people who wonder why we were underprepared, ask all the ex-employees, who turned all our vendors against us at the very last moment. Still we arranged for all the infrastructure at the last moment. Not to worry guys, all the vendors are getting sued too! 4. After the first day problems, even the biggest event company on this earth would have called it off. But we stood firm and decided to pull it off even if that meant having a bad face in public. 5. We distributed all on-spot prizes, Tablets (almost 20) and innumerable CDs and many goodie bags. This clarifies, that we never had any kind of escaping intentions. 6. Many of you and few of our ex-employees thought not to support us, even if that meant supporting the biggest e-sporting event of India. We did our share of mistakes, but then were you guys there to support us or to help us in putting a better show? 7. As far as the fake Bank Guarantee is concerned which is doing the rounds on Internet, i would like to assure you that its not from us at all. Whosoever involved, will be punished according to Indian Law. Even M5 is on its way to be sued for their lies and misconduct. 8. As far as the prize money distribution is concerned, we would like to re-assure all the winners that their payment will be made. Disbursement of Prize money takes time as their are various Governmental procedures involved. Just a curious question, did you ever know that even KBC took around 90-120 days to disburse their prize money? 9. For all the ex-employees and people who tried their best to sabotage our image, be prepared. We have the list and we are suing you all.
For all the genuine supporters, we thank you from the bottom of our heart for your support in our valiant effort of putting up a better show.
Regards, Kushagra
On April 13 2012 00:00 happyft wrote: Imo the OP should be updated with the article that has already been posted. You can follow that link to the original M5's team manager's blog.
It's pretty clear from what M5 has said (and what a few others in this thread have said) that this whole even was a scam. That being said, I don't think all of India should be banned from holding e-sports events, as it would be a mistake to think that WTF Eventz represents the country as a whole. But of course, everyone should do their due diligence in investigating whether a new upcoming event is legit or not.
also I was the one of the people who helped organise the at home tournament for BF3 and Starcraft 2.
The man who made all this possible is Akshat Rathee, my sc2 2 v 2 partner and my boss. Hats off to the man. He the guy who thanks every1 at 2:11 into the video.
so the guy who got the shit kicked out of him was the one trying to scam everyone? If so he got what he deserves
Did you even read the link or what gautamvirk86 actually said? There were many many organizers, that guy was one of the few who helped set up a non-official tournament at home for the international players. The article linked in the OP even thanks him for that. The extent of his involvement and responsibility in this scam is unknown.
Like a lot of people mentioned in the thread, the entire event reeked of scam. The whole thing was so unbelievable. Quite sad that some teams didnt actually see past it. Tournament that asked you to pay before entry, and none of the organizers(and sponsors) were heard of before in the indian gaming scene, had an angry birds tourney for 50 lakhs, and trying to beat world records in it's list of priorities..... Yup,seems legit.
Perhaps it would be good for India to develop a strong international presence for gaming, as in get their names and players at international playing levels. I don't think dreamhack would've been a success if Sweden didn't have such a strong gaming culture and internationally known players. Once this happens, these events will be able to get the proper sponsorship and attention needed for running a strong, reliable event.
to be fair, most people would buy an MLG player pass blindly and what if the venue turned out to be crap? you just can't predict how it will turn out. sometimes it's the people they hire, sometimes there are real technical difficulties that happen and delay tournaments from starting. even IPL had connection problems, so it's not unbelievable to think the same thing would happen here. Also, esports gets new sponsors and new event organizers every day and it's impossible to weed out the scammers from the real ones because you just won't know how the event will turn out until it happens. And sometimes it's not the organizers fault as I said, there are a lot of factors that can go in that cause delays and problems.
if they pay out the winners then I would attribute this to bad luck and bad organizing but i wouldn't call it a scam. however if no prize money is sent then there is obviously a problem. There was even a thread were a progamer was talking about how he didn't get paid from other organizations in the past, it happens. I don't see a reasonable way of preventing things like this other than mistrusting new organizers but then the sport wouldn't be able to grow in locations that normally don't have events. I feel like where we're at with esports is we're simply working with trust and there isn't much else to go on other than to shun someone who has scammed in the past.
so the guy who got the shit kicked out of him was the one trying to scam everyone? If so he got what he deserves
Did you even read the link or what gautamvirk86 actually said? There were many many organizers, that guy was one of the few who helped set up a non-official tournament at home for the international players. The article linked in the OP even thanks him for that. The extent of his involvement and responsibility in this scam is unknown.
i obviously didnt read it, hence the question. Thanks for clearing it up for someone whos too lazy to read
well i was dere for the 3 days and IGC sucked balls. Thanks the a couple friends Bf3 and sc2 were organized pretty well. We obviously could not give the prize money promised by the IGC guys but we did what ever we could so the international players do not get disappointed and actually have something to do. I hope they enjoyed it.
All the vods of the MINI INDIAN HOME STORY CUP will be uploaded by the end of this week.
For the gamers of all the games it sucks balls for them. But its a good thing that one of the organizers got beaten up!!!!
Sadly, the entire tournament reeked of being a scam right from the time it was announced. There is a thread somewhere here on Team Liquid from earlier regarding IGC when it was announced back then. A few unknown guys with no history of ever being a part of the esport community in India suddenly came up and said they're hosting a tournament with a prizepool bigger than last years DreamHack and MLG in India? Very very shady indeed.
Games cancelled at the event, thugs tailing players of an international team, an organizer getting beaten up.wtf .From what I hear even the prize cheques given to the winners have bounced.
This indeed is a shame for India and my fellow Indians. Douchebags like this pretty much have ensured that foreign teams will never attend a tournament in India, even if it is a legit one.
Man, this is absolutely horrible. Why haven't names of these organizers been posted? Why hasn't the Indian government stepped in? This is serious business. And after reading comments on that Mukesh Maurya page, I feel like he's underestimating how bad this is.
what i don't understand is how people showed up after day 1. ROFL at angry birds tourney. Props to the people who gave a crap and helped setup that side tournament.
Going to quote, a very long post from the CEO himself
Hi all, There are few points which we would like to clear:
1. IGC was our first event. 2. There were many fiascos related to our event but still we pulled it off. 3. We tried our best but couldn't get any sponsorship. Later we found out that whichever company we approached closed the deal because few other prominent figures of the Gaming Industry came behind us to spoil the curry. (Fact told by people from Sony & Nvidia). However, even without sponsors we continued with the event and pulled it off, though not in an expected fashion. 4. For all those people who wonder why we were underprepared, ask all the ex-employees, who turned all our vendors against us at the very last moment. Still we arranged for all the infrastructure at the last moment. Not to worry guys, all the vendors are getting sued too! 4. After the first day problems, even the biggest event company on this earth would have called it off. But we stood firm and decided to pull it off even if that meant having a bad face in public. 5. We distributed all on-spot prizes, Tablets (almost 20) and innumerable CDs and many goodie bags. This clarifies, that we never had any kind of escaping intentions. 6. Many of you and few of our ex-employees thought not to support us, even if that meant supporting the biggest e-sporting event of India. We did our share of mistakes, but then were you guys there to support us or to help us in putting a better show? 7. As far as the fake Bank Guarantee is concerned which is doing the rounds on Internet, i would like to assure you that its not from us at all. Whosoever involved, will be punished according to Indian Law. Even M5 is on its way to be sued for their lies and misconduct. 8. As far as the prize money distribution is concerned, we would like to re-assure all the winners that their payment will be made. Disbursement of Prize money takes time as their are various Governmental procedures involved. Just a curious question, did you ever know that even KBC took around 90-120 days to disburse their prize money? 9. For all the ex-employees and people who tried their best to sabotage our image, be prepared. We have the list and we are suing you all.
For all the genuine supporters, we thank you from the bottom of our heart for your support in our valiant effort of putting up a better show.
Yeah...well...whatever happened there I hope doesn't happen again. You can't ask for 8mil title sponsorship and give players and teams what they feel was unjustified. It just tears into the credibility not to mention it sure is going to make it hard to get sponsors for any future events you wish to hold. Whether or not it was a scam from the beginning though, it was obviously poorly organized by amateurs.
It just sounds weird all together. We will wait and see about the payout in the future. At least they didn't leave people holding thousands of dollars in hotel bills this time. LoL.
It is sad when things don't work out right and I hope to see a great event in India some day in the future. This though, was not it.
Even M5 is on its way to be sued for their lies and misconduct.
Haha, good luck trying. In the end, he didn't pull back his offer to pay for flight and stay, and M5 did not recieve the money. So how are they lying? Ha.
By the way, the Pro CS team that went were followed by 4 thugs and robbed when they slept, with all their money + the camera rolls that included footage of the venue and of the manager being stolen,
On April 12 2012 19:50 Tidus Mino wrote: By the way, the Pro CS team that went were followed by 4 thugs and robbed when they slept, with all their money + the camera rolls that included footage of the venue and of the manager being stolen,
Yeah, this is just sad. Who do we believe, the pro team with sponsors and a reputation or...well...WTF Eventz who no one has ever heard of. I am sorry to the teams and players involved in the mess.
They should go to prison! I mean they made a lot of promises and most of them were not kept. False advertisement is a crime and breach of contract another criminal offense. If they don't go to prison a fine would be in order or something at least. The gamers of India and western pro teams shouldn't have to put of with quackery like this.
On April 12 2012 20:00 archonOOid wrote: They should go to prison! I mean they made a lot of promises and most of them were not kept. False advertisement is a crime and breach of contract another criminal offense. If they don't go to prison a fine would be in order or something at least. The gamers of India and western pro teams shouldn't have to put of with quackery like this.
i'd imagine it would be pretty hard to pursue legal matters in India, the same as the problem with Philipiness and the ''Gus'' incident.
On April 12 2012 20:00 archonOOid wrote: They should go to prison! I mean they made a lot of promises and most of them were not kept. False advertisement is a crime and breach of contract another criminal offense. If they don't go to prison a fine would be in order or something at least. The gamers of India and western pro teams shouldn't have to put of with quackery like this.
i'd imagine it would be pretty hard to pursue legal matters in India, the same as the problem with Philipiness and the ''Gus'' incident.
Yeah, this is why if I were a team I would not attend an event like this without 100% knowledge of other prominent sponsors and whatnot. At least Gus had that IPL deal going on for people to buy in to.
On April 12 2012 20:00 archonOOid wrote: They should go to prison! I mean they made a lot of promises and most of them were not kept. False advertisement is a crime and breach of contract another criminal offense. If they don't go to prison a fine would be in order or something at least. The gamers of India and western pro teams shouldn't have to put of with quackery like this.
It's highly unlikely that they will get real justice in India. It's a well-known fact that if you are rich (or have connections with some powerful people) then you will very likely to get justice in India.
"4. For all those people who wonder why we were underprepared, ask all the ex-employees, who turned all our vendors against us at the very last moment. Still we arranged for all the infrastructure at the last moment. Not to worry guys, all the vendors are getting sued too!" Just this part proves that the progamers are telling the truth, why on earth would ex-employees go out of their way to do something like this? They would either hold a REALLY big grudge or be correct.
IGC seems to be completely and absolutely disgraceful.
I read ddd1ms blog entry, and noticed that he had the receipt for the hotel photocopied and posted. Since they were staying at a Hilton brand, I'd advise him to contact Hilton customer service as soon as possible to get compensation and resolve the hotel robbing crap at least.
I used to work at HH (Hilton HHonors) customer service in Sweden a few years back, and if something like this would have hit the web, all hell would break loose. I couldn't navigate to a proper email adress as I don't know russian, but perhaps someone can give him this tip at least, if he hasn't contaced them already?
Reputation is _everything_ for hotel brands, and this shit will not stand if you make a bit of noise.
Was this a tournament where people had to pay before entering the tournament? That's usually a scam, right? Did they all conspire to do this? ( the employees ) or only a select few?
First timer? They are aiming for something out of their reach. Dreamhack took more than a decade to grow into what it is today. I didn't expect much and I was right. M5 should have smelled the fail like Fnatic and Navi.
On April 12 2012 20:53 Prime`Rib wrote: First timer? They are aiming for something out of their reach. Dreamhack took more than a decade to grow into what it is today. I didn't expect much and I was right. M5 should have smelled the fail like Fnatic and Navi.
It's terrible when organizations try to put together something like this and then it gets screwed up by a few people or groups out of their control x.x
Seems like posturing and hollow threats used to scare off the victims. To be expected from a culture where corruption is so heavily ingrained. Never-the-less it's sickening if true, and just a deeper hole dug.
I was approached to enter this. I was tempted after being told there would be no real competition etc. However I demanded questions as I would for any event that is unheard of and taking part in a 3rd world country. It was really obvious from the evasive answers "that's being handled by someone else im not sure" etc. that this was, whilst not necessarily a scam, definitely lacking any evidence that it would deliver any of the grand promises.
Myself and my manager were highly amused when we saw that it was being organised by an organisation called "WTF"
Anyone that went to this I feel really sorry for, and hope they grow wiser from the experience.
On April 12 2012 22:22 EmperorKira wrote: Its India, that place has a bad reputation for these kind of things. You'd probably do better by even hosting it in Pakistan!
Ha.Ha. I found ur comment extremely amusing. Well to be fair it has been only 60 yrs of independence since it was enslaved by the British rule. Divide and conquer worked extremely well, in fact so well that the country's potential has been a mere fraction of what it could be thanks to England's efforts (because they feared what it could become if they didnt set the ppl against each other & instill greed in the higher ranking officials).
But having said that, many yrs have passed and this is such a tragic event. What a shame that it came to this! The potential...and the outcome. I hope those SOB's are hung out to dry...
Imo the OP should be updated with the article that has already been posted. You can follow that link to the original M5's team manager's blog.
It's pretty clear from what M5 has said (and what a few others in this thread have said) that this whole even was a scam. That being said, I don't think all of India should be banned from holding e-sports events, as it would be a mistake to think that WTF Eventz represents the country as a whole. But of course, everyone should do their due diligence in investigating whether a new upcoming event is legit or not.
On April 13 2012 00:00 happyft wrote: Imo the OP should be updated with the article that has already been posted. You can follow that link to the original M5's team manager's blog.
It's pretty clear from what M5 has said (and what a few others in this thread have said) that this whole even was a scam. That being said, I don't think all of India should be banned from holding e-sports events, as it would be a mistake to think that WTF Eventz represents the country as a whole. But of course, everyone should do their due diligence in investigating whether a new upcoming event is legit or not.
+1 I totally agree. It would be quite ignorant to make sweeping generalisations about a country because of one event. To, by default not attend or ban other indian esports events would be quite extreme. Potentially India has the greatest potential for Esports (1.1 billion ppl, think of all the indian supernerds with IT degrees etc, high internet penetration in the large cities,and ye I know cos I am Indian myself).
On April 13 2012 00:00 happyft wrote: Imo the OP should be updated with the article that has already been posted. You can follow that link to the original M5's team manager's blog.
It's pretty clear from what M5 has said (and what a few others in this thread have said) that this whole even was a scam. That being said, I don't think all of India should be banned from holding e-sports events, as it would be a mistake to think that WTF Eventz represents the country as a whole. But of course, everyone should do their due diligence in investigating whether a new upcoming event is legit or not.
+1 I totally agree. It would be quite ignorant to make sweeping generalisations about a country because of one event. To, by default not attend or ban other indian esports events would be quite extreme. Potentially India has the greatest potential for Esports (1.1 billion ppl, think of all the indian supernerds with IT degrees etc, high internet penetration in the large cities,and ye I know cos I am Indian myself).
Thanks. That being said, if there the event organizers are not held accountable for their actions and not brought to justice, that might be a good reason to stay away from India as a whole. No justice would only leave open the possibility of repeat offenses, and no one would be able to trust new tournaments without it (unless it was run by an established entity like Blizzard or MLG).
Hi all, There are few points which we would like to clear:
1. IGC was our first event. 2. There were many fiascos related to our event but still we pulled it off. 3. We tried our best but couldn't get any sponsorship. Later we found out that whichever company we approached closed the deal because few other prominent figures of the Gaming Industry came behind us to spoil the curry. (Fact told by people from Sony & Nvidia). However, even without sponsors we continued with the event and pulled it off, though not in an expected fashion. 4. For all those people who wonder why we were underprepared, ask all the ex-employees, who turned all our vendors against us at the very last moment. Still we arranged for all the infrastructure at the last moment. Not to worry guys, all the vendors are getting sued too! 4. After the first day problems, even the biggest event company on this earth would have called it off. But we stood firm and decided to pull it off even if that meant having a bad face in public. 5. We distributed all on-spot prizes, Tablets (almost 20) and innumerable CDs and many goodie bags. This clarifies, that we never had any kind of escaping intentions. 6. Many of you and few of our ex-employees thought not to support us, even if that meant supporting the biggest e-sporting event of India. We did our share of mistakes, but then were you guys there to support us or to help us in putting a better show? 7. As far as the fake Bank Guarantee is concerned which is doing the rounds on Internet, i would like to assure you that its not from us at all. Whosoever involved, will be punished according to Indian Law. Even M5 is on its way to be sued for their lies and misconduct. 8. As far as the prize money distribution is concerned, we would like to re-assure all the winners that their payment will be made. Disbursement of Prize money takes time as their are various Governmental procedures involved. Just a curious question, did you ever know that even KBC took around 90-120 days to disburse their prize money? 9. For all the ex-employees and people who tried their best to sabotage our image, be prepared. We have the list and we are suing you all.
For all the genuine supporters, we thank you from the bottom of our heart for your support in our valiant effort of putting up a better show.
Regards, Kushagra
Unfortunately for WTF Events, lawyers usually require payment before opening a case, so none of the individuals mentioned should be concerned.
On April 12 2012 22:22 EmperorKira wrote: Its India, that place has a bad reputation for these kind of things. You'd probably do better by even hosting it in Pakistan!
I'd much rather be scammed than risk losing my life.
Edit: Seriously, I didn't want to stoop into such a petty debate, and what IGC did was downright shitty ( I was one of the people who distrusted them from the very start, and tried warning as many people as possible), but stop posting your shitty nationalist propaganda in this thread.
Hey, has anyone heard any updates on this? I have not seen much of anything about it. I am curious if anyone actually got paid like the organizer swore they would.
On April 12 2012 22:22 EmperorKira wrote: Its India, that place has a bad reputation for these kind of things. You'd probably do better by even hosting it in Pakistan!
I'd much rather be scammed than risk losing my life.
Edit: Seriously, I didn't want to stoop into such a petty debate, and what IGC did was downright shitty ( I was one of the people who distrusted them from the very start, and tried warning as many people as possible), but stop posting your shitty nationalist propaganda in this thread.
I've been to India and know people who have lived there, scamming is much, much more common place in the country compared to almost all other western countries. To a westerner, India can and should be stereotyped in this way so that they're careful when they consider traveling there.
And yeah we all know Pakistan is stereotyped for a reason.
I did not know about this and just read through the linked article. Considering the drama over the last few days, the comment from Destiny really caught my attention.
On April 13 2012 00:00 happyft wrote: Imo the OP should be updated with the article that has already been posted. You can follow that link to the original M5's team manager's blog.
It's pretty clear from what M5 has said (and what a few others in this thread have said) that this whole even was a scam. That being said, I don't think all of India should be banned from holding e-sports events, as it would be a mistake to think that WTF Eventz represents the country as a whole. But of course, everyone should do their due diligence in investigating whether a new upcoming event is legit or not.
+1 I totally agree. It would be quite ignorant to make sweeping generalisations about a country because of one event. To, by default not attend or ban other indian esports events would be quite extreme. Potentially India has the greatest potential for Esports (1.1 billion ppl, think of all the indian supernerds with IT degrees etc, high internet penetration in the large cities,and ye I know cos I am Indian myself).
no bias there whatsoever right?
All this shows is that india isnt ready to host an event like this yet, until they find sponsorships and stability and only then start advertising should they then be able to host a respectable event, this was a disaster from what im reading
India is in no way ready to do something like that and this shows. The lies from the CEO are just the cherry on top, this is the guy that Indian esports is made of? Glad that at least everyone escaped with their lives intact.
On May 04 2012 15:02 Jonoman92 wrote: Goodness.... makes that scandal in (Indonesia was it? can't remember) sound like a smoothly run tournament lol.
It was the Philippines. Yeah, it is the worst situation since Gus Ledezma and that IPL situation. The good part with this one was that very few people believed it was actually going to be anything...no sponsors or anything. It seemed like a huge joke...
On April 13 2012 00:00 happyft wrote: Imo the OP should be updated with the article that has already been posted. You can follow that link to the original M5's team manager's blog.
It's pretty clear from what M5 has said (and what a few others in this thread have said) that this whole even was a scam. That being said, I don't think all of India should be banned from holding e-sports events, as it would be a mistake to think that WTF Eventz represents the country as a whole. But of course, everyone should do their due diligence in investigating whether a new upcoming event is legit or not.
+1 I totally agree. It would be quite ignorant to make sweeping generalisations about a country because of one event. To, by default not attend or ban other indian esports events would be quite extreme. Potentially India has the greatest potential for Esports (1.1 billion ppl, think of all the indian supernerds with IT degrees etc, high internet penetration in the large cities,and ye I know cos I am Indian myself).
as a first generation indo canadian male who talks to mah pplz back in my parents pind over skype, i can say it would be highly ignorant to talk about potential of a country that is filled with government corruption that leaks to the people. A country where the elected officials watch rape porn while in parliament. They got there by bribing poor people with alcohol for their votes y'know. You'd think a bribe of water that isn't cholera infested would work better, but /shrug its easier to just keep the populace drunk and stupid. While they're stupid, how about sponsoring P&G research directives to sell skin whitening lotion to the dark folk obsessed with being white and while doing that keep calling that sikh genocide in the 80s a riot instead because the world doesn't like that g word. If they find out, blame it on british rule so India doesn't have to take the fall and fix itself for problems corrupt Indians created for it. E Waste economy yo, boil them computer parts and get dem cents while exposing yourself to toxic fumes because theres no other option for you ever since the government only cares about keeping itself rich. Khatta Meetha
oh ya lets talk esports in that country, lets talk potential and not reality. Thats a great way to make sure india grows and doesn't stay the same. Good job with your blind nationalism, you're doing our corrupted country proud.
On April 12 2012 20:53 Prime`Rib wrote: First timer? They are aiming for something out of their reach. Dreamhack took more than a decade to grow into what it is today. I didn't expect much and I was right. M5 should have smelled the fail like Fnatic and Navi.
Yeah. This people should learn that if they not have enough money to burn, they need to start small and slow. Or else fail bigtime.
EPT
will be uploaded by the end of this week. 
