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4 Posts
https://esic.gg/sanction-outcome/esic-issues-lifetime-ban-to-starcraft-ii-player-xue-firefly-tao-following-match-fixing-investigation/
The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has issued a lifetime ban to  Firefly after concluding an investigation into his alleged match-fixing activities.
In late/May early June, former Chinese pro Jim posted a detailed account to the SCBOY (Chinese community) forums of how he Firefly had collaborated to engage in multiple instances match-fixing. ESIC began an investigation around this time, and issued a temporary suspension to Firefly which resulted in his removal from the Esports World Cup.
The summary of the final ESIC report and ruling reads as follows:
"The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) today announced the outcome of its investigation into serious integrity breaches involving professional StarCraft II competitors Xue “Firefly” Tao and Gao “Jim” Mengwei. Mr. Tao has been banned from ESIC Member events and competitions for life, while Mr. Mengwei has been provisionally suspended pending further sanction.
Following a detailed inquiry spanning April to July 2024, ESIC uncovered evidence of a coordinated match-fixing and profit-sharing scheme. The investigation found that Mr. Tao deliberately manipulated match outcomes to benefit illicit betting activity orchestrated by Mr. Mengwei, with whom he had a long-standing association.
Key findings include:
- Pre-match wagers placed by Mr. Mengwei predicting Firefly’s losses — often by precise scorelines.
- Consistent match losses by Firefly aligning with those wagers across seven tournaments.
- Large Alipay transfers from Mengwei to Firefly immediately following these matches.
- A WeChat exchange on 21 August 2024 directly referencing prior payments and an effort to conceal evidence."
According to the full report, the ESIC obtained payment information, betting slips, and chat logs directly from Jim. Additionally, information on suspicious betting activity in the relevant matches was received from various sportsbooks.
ESIC is a broad anti-corruption body in esports which includes member organizations such as ESL and Dreamhack. Although the Esports World Cup is not listed as an official member or partner, EWC's removal of Firefly following ESIC's provisional suspension suggests it defers to ESIC's rulings.
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Bisutopia19230 Posts
Dang, this situation just sucks. I hope Firefly learns from this and can find a good honest life in the years ahead of him.
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However it should be Cao "Jim" Jinhui.liquipedia.net
I don't know who Gao Mengwei is and why ESIC made this mistake.
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United States33344 Posts
On July 09 2025 02:47 Kaul-S04 wrote:However it should be Cao "Jim" Jinhui. liquipedia.netI don't know who Gao Mengwei is and why ESIC made this mistake.
lol that's a really weird clerical error
i wonder if that was their translator or something like that (or Jim was going by a fake government name for a decade)
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On July 09 2025 04:14 Waxangel wrote:Show nested quote +On July 09 2025 02:47 Kaul-S04 wrote:However it should be Cao "Jim" Jinhui. liquipedia.netI don't know who Gao Mengwei is and why ESIC made this mistake. lol that's a really weird clerical error i wonder if that was their translator or something like that (or Jim was going by a fake government name for a decade)
Also not following the Chinese naming convention of family name first so it should've been Mr. Xue and Mr. Gao.
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On July 09 2025 04:14 Waxangel wrote:Show nested quote +On July 09 2025 02:47 Kaul-S04 wrote:However it should be Cao "Jim" Jinhui. liquipedia.netI don't know who Gao Mengwei is and why ESIC made this mistake. lol that's a really weird clerical error i wonder if that was their translator or something like that (or Jim was going by a fake government name for a decade)
Pretty sure it's just a stupid error. Both Jim's and Firefly's legal names are on the transaction records Jim posted on scboy.cc.
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I'm confused by this, Jim was both the person who benefited from placing bets and also the person who brought this scheme to light? That seems rather folly
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I guess this ban would extend to all other potential e-sport that is run by ESL, what about games like AoE?
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On July 09 2025 23:48 tigera6 wrote:
I guess this ban would extend to all other potential e-sport that is run by ESL, what about games like AoE?
Whether officially related to ESIC or not, I cannot imagine any professional tournament organizer permitting participation of a player convicted of matchfixing on multiple counts.
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On July 09 2025 23:27 Gluon wrote:
I'm confused by this, Jim was both the person who benefited from placing bets and also the person who brought this scheme to light? That seems rather folly
Why? I don't think it's completely unreasonable to assume one of the following scenarios:
1. Jim felt guilty, grew a conscience and wanted a clean slate, whatever that entails (seems very unlikely to me, but who knows)
2. Jim and Firefly had some kind of falling-out, which resulted in Jim receiving the short end of the stick and therefore acted in retaliation
3. Some third non-disclosed party has additional dirt on Jim and pressured him into confessing, in this case we might not have the full picture, yet
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United States1849 Posts
For some, the action is the juice.
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On July 09 2025 23:27 Gluon wrote:
I'm confused by this, Jim was both the person who benefited from placing bets and also the person who brought this scheme to light? That seems rather folly
Jim is a gambler and lost all his money in gambling and have debt to be paid. He feels Firefly should owe him 10k CNY in one of their previous cooperation of match-fixing, but Firefly refused to give him the money. It is his last effort to try to get some money, or he would make Firedly also doomed before Jim is doomed himself.
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United States33344 Posts
On July 10 2025 01:30 Creager wrote:Show nested quote +On July 09 2025 23:27 Gluon wrote:
I'm confused by this, Jim was both the person who benefited from placing bets and also the person who brought this scheme to light? That seems rather folly Why? I don't think it's completely unreasonable to assume one of the following scenarios: 1. Jim felt guilty, grew a conscience and wanted a clean slate, whatever that entails (seems very unlikely to me, but who knows) 2. Jim and Firefly had some kind of falling-out, which resulted in Jim receiving the short end of the stick and therefore acted in retaliation 3. Some third non-disclosed party has additional dirt on Jim and pressured him into confessing, in this case we might not have the full picture, yet
it's 100% explicit in Jim's original thread that Firefly didn't pay Jim money he was owed, and Jim was pissed off because of that
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EPT
