ESPORTS SECURE
Pavol Krasnovsky, CEO, RTSmunity
Pavol Krasnovsky graduated from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University in Prague in the field of Theory of Probability and Mathematical Statistics. He also graduated at University of Economics in Prague in the field of Finance. Krasnovsky worked as a researcher in statistics at University of Warwick, UK. Krasnovsky worked as a mathematical analyst for
various algorithmic trading companies with interest rates. Together with his brother, they developed mathematical solution for quantifying metagame for MOBA eSports games. On the basis of their experience, they founded the company RTSmunity. RTSmunity is the first esports live odds provider with fully automated algorithms systems based on real-time high frequency data from professional eSports matches. RTSmunity covers the most popular eSports professional matches and provide more than 1000 in-play odds and 60 markets for eSports.
In the past few years we have seen a number of eSport scandals involving match fixing by players, brokers and even league officials. Should this issue be a concern to sports betting operators and bettors alike? Krasnovsky: “I think that this is the same
problem that exists in other professional sports like soccer, tennis or basketball. However, there are a number of advantages in eSports. Firstly, the players are competing in a competitive platform so it is much easier to track the players. Secondly, there are very set and quantifiable rules in eSports that can be tracked by mathematical models that can determine when the players are not playing optimally. Analyzing this data, our systems are able to detect fraud in real time.”
Do you think the issue of cheating and
integrity in eSports is as prevalent or rare as it is in traditional sports, or is it more common or less common? Krasnovsky: “In terms of cheating, players at offline tournaments use tournament’s devices that are monitored for any external applications, therefore cheating at offline competitions is almost impossible. At online tournaments players use their own devices, these devices are also scanned for applications that can give players unfair advantage, so the chance of cheating is very low too. Although, in past couple of years there were 2-3 cases of cheating discovered, all cases resulted in players or teams being disqualified or banned from future competitions. In professional eSport matches the events of cheating are very rare.”
What can be done to ensure the integrity of
eSports matches and the corresponding impact on wagering? Krasnovsky: “For one, you can use real time
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mathematical solutions to reveal suspicious game play activity by the players. You can then analyze the game play and advise the tournament organizer of the findings. Armed with this data, the tournament organizer can act accordingly. Secondly, I think it is important that eSport athletes are well compensated. This will eliminate some of the financial motivation behind match fixing/cheating. Finally, you can employ former professional players to watch the matches and they can report what they consider suspicious game play or activity. If you combine all these things together I believe it will eliminate much of the potential of match-fixing and cheating.”
Some people say that the fact that the “game”
is played in an electronic/virtual environment, the game lends itself more to cheating. Is this true in your opinion? Krasnovsky: “It’s the exact opposite. The fact that
it is played in a virtual environment with clear rule- sets, it actually makes it more difficult to cheat and easier to detect.”
What technology currently exists to detect cheating in eSports? Can you describe this? What type of anti-cheating mechanisms are employed by the various publishers. Are they effective? Krasnovsky: “Most professional tournaments are
played offline and publishers such as Riot and Valve implement their own anti-cheating applications on their servers. These anti-cheating applications can reveal numerous cheats such as aimbots and maphacks. As a result, we have seen that in the past year there has not been any hacking issues in major tournaments in games by these publishers.”
Some people say that the cheating scandals in
eSports present a major barrier to the sport’s move into the mainstream. In your opinion, is there a need for an international governing body (like KESPA in Korea) to provide some sort of oversight? Krasnovsky: “I think there should be some form
of international governing body and they should employ the latest technologies to monitor cheating, hacking and match-fixing. This body can then set up rules and impose sanctions when warranted.”
What about drug use in eSports. What is being done to address that issue? Do you see this as a factor that could affect the integrity of eSports wagering? Krasnovsky: “Drug usage was a problem couple of
years ago when team members were forced to use drugs to enhance their performance. Since last year all major tournaments and competitions apply drug testing before matches or competitions. We believe this issue will have almost no impact on eSports wagering now”
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