Esports, as one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, has rapidly gained fans and an audience thanks to streaming services such as Twitch and several significant esports tournaments, such as the League of Legends World Championship, CS:GO Majors, and Dota 2’s The International (TI).
電子競(jìng)技作為世界上發(fā)展最為迅猛的一個(gè)產(chǎn)業(yè)，已經(jīng)迅速獲得了大量的粉絲和觀(guān)眾卿捎，而這要?dú)w功于比如twitch一類(lèi)的流媒體服務(wù)以及許多重要的電競(jìng)賽事比如LOL世界賽殴瘦，CS：GO的major以及DOTA2的國(guó)際邀請(qǐng)賽衣式。
While fans, participants, and sponsors have a passion for these larger-than-life esports events, there are groups of people whose only love is in making fast money. When it comes to this year’s The International, there is no one with more to gain than scalpers (people who either buy tickets in bulk or counterfeit them to resell at a higher price) and the organizations that are working with them to make money through questionable means.
然而盡管粉絲筏勒，參與者以及贊助商對(duì)這些“重于生命”的電競(jìng)活動(dòng)有著極大的激情，總有那么一群人是只想著賺快錢(qián)的。到了今年的TI，沒(méi)有人能夠比黃牛（大量囤積門(mén)票或者仿制合陵，再以高價(jià)倒賣(mài)的人群）以及和他們同流合污的組織用這種應(yīng)當(dāng)被質(zhì)疑的手段更來(lái)錢(qián)。
In this article, The Esports Observer takes a closer look at how these scalpers managed to buy so many tickets meant for TI fans and how the lack of real authority and oversight affected the highest prize money tournament in esports history.
在本文中澄阳，電競(jìng)觀(guān)察者會(huì)近距離觀(guān)察這些黃牛到底是如何買(mǎi)到這么多本應(yīng)該提供給TI粉絲的門(mén)票，以及權(quán)威和監(jiān)管的缺乏對(duì)這電競(jìng)歷史上獎(jiǎng)金最高的賽事帶來(lái)的影響踏拜。
**Massive Chaos in TI9 Ticket Sales **
TI9門(mén)票售賣(mài)的騷亂
Recently, the esports industry in China welcomed the $33M USD The International to Shanghai. Between August 20-25, 16 professional esports teams will compete at Shanghai Mercedes-Benz Arena, and 18,000 attendees will witness this highest prize money tournament in the history of esports each day.
最近碎赢，中國(guó)的電競(jìng)業(yè)迎來(lái)了在上海舉辦的總獎(jiǎng)池高達(dá)3300萬(wàn)美元的Dota2國(guó)際邀請(qǐng)賽（以下簡(jiǎn)稱(chēng)TI）。在8月20-25日速梗，16支職業(yè)戰(zhàn)隊(duì)會(huì)在上海梅賽德斯奔馳文化中心肮塞，在18000名觀(guān)眾的見(jiàn)證下，爭(zhēng)奪電競(jìng)史上的最高獎(jiǎng)金姻锁。
Some TI9 attendees paid an incredibly high price to get into the event by buying tickets directly from scalpers. Even some attendees who bought tickets for the official price reported that Damai, the exclusive Chinese ticket sales platform of the event, switched their tickets with lower viewing experience seats (typically seats in the upper rows, or “nosebleed” sections of the venue).
有一些來(lái)看TI9的觀(guān)眾從黃牛手上花了天價(jià)才買(mǎi)到門(mén)票進(jìn)場(chǎng)枕赵。更過(guò)分的是，有一些從官方獨(dú)家門(mén)票售賣(mài)商大麥?zhǔn)稚腺I(mǎi)到正價(jià)門(mén)票的觀(guān)眾聲稱(chēng)他們的門(mén)票被換到了觀(guān)賽體驗(yàn)較差的區(qū)域（尤其是換到了更高處的看臺(tái)席位位隶，或者是那種需要抬起頭來(lái)觀(guān)賽的區(qū)域）
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<figcaption id="caption-attachment-66351" class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 3px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; color: rgb(160, 160, 160); text-align: center;">Pictured: Scalpers showing off their bulk tickets. Credit: Shanghai Morning Post</figcaption>
Unlike previous TI events hosted in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Germany, this is the first time the event has come to China, and also the first time that there has been a problem with the way tickets have been sold. These problems helped scalpers to buy and sell bulk tickets with ease:
不同之前在美國(guó)拷窜，加拿大以及德國(guó)舉辦過(guò)的TI逗柴，此次是該項(xiàng)賽事首次來(lái)到中國(guó)您觉，同時(shí)這也是第一次TI的門(mén)票售賣(mài)出現(xiàn)問(wèn)題遇八。以下的這些問(wèn)題使得黃牛倒賣(mài)門(mén)票更為便利：
Paper Tickets for TI9
TI9的紙質(zhì)化門(mén)票
<figcaption id="caption-attachment-66353" class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 3px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; color: rgb(160, 160, 160); text-align: center;">Credit: Valve</figcaption>
In the previous TI, the ticket was actually a badge made of plastic. Due to the event using paper instead of plastic this year, scalpers have found it easier to secretly carry these tickets in and around the arena, and sell them to fans. In addition, it is easy to make counterfeit tickets. For fans, badges are more commemorative and harder (but not entirely impossible) to counterfeit.
在先前的TI中祝钢，門(mén)票其實(shí)是塑料制作的胸牌骚烧。而由于本年用紙質(zhì)票替代塑料材質(zhì)門(mén)票祷蝌，黃牛發(fā)現(xiàn)將門(mén)票攜帶至場(chǎng)館附近并且售賣(mài)給粉絲們更為便捷了爽蝴。除此之外迅皇，仿制門(mén)票也更為容易了春宣。而對(duì)于粉絲而言酵颁，胸牌更具有紀(jì)念意義，同時(shí)也更難以仿制（但也不是完全不可能）
Seating Issues
<figcaption id="caption-attachment-66352" class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 3px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; color: rgb(160, 160, 160); text-align: center;">Pictured: an online re-selling platform priced the tickets based on seat locations. Credit: Mo Tianlun</figcaption>
Pictured: an online re-selling platform priced the tickets based on seat locations. Credit: Mo Tianlun
圖示：在線(xiàn)門(mén)票倒賣(mài)平臺(tái)摩天輪根據(jù)位置標(biāo)注的門(mén)票價(jià)格
In every stadium, there are places with the best and worst viewing experiences. At the previous TI, seats were random, so that attendees are not able to choose where they want to sit to make the purchase fair and to keep tickets at a reasonable price. But this time, seat numbers are on the tickets, which allows scalpers to set pricing specifically based on the seat location. As the above picture shows, the second-floor tickets are higher than fifth-floor tickets, and more front-facing to the stage with a higher price point.
在每一個(gè)場(chǎng)館月帝，都會(huì)有最差以及最佳觀(guān)賽體驗(yàn)的位置躏惋。而先前的TI中，座位是隨機(jī)的嫁赏，所以觀(guān)眾們并不能夠選擇他們的座次其掂，進(jìn)而保證了票務(wù)購(gòu)買(mǎi)的公平性以及一個(gè)合理的價(jià)位。但這一次潦蝇，座位號(hào)是印在門(mén)票上的款熬，這就使得黃派盍龋可以根據(jù)位置定價(jià)。正如上面圖片所示贤牛，二層的座位價(jià)格是要高于五層的惋鹅，同時(shí)更正對(duì)主舞臺(tái)的位置也會(huì)有一個(gè)更高的價(jià)位。
<figcaption id="caption-attachment-66354" class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 3px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; color: rgb(160, 160, 160); text-align: center;">Picture: Damai is in potential partnering with scalper organizations in TI9, Credit: Shanghai Morning Post</figcaption>
大麥很可能同黃牛在TI9門(mén)票售賣(mài)上沆瀣一氣 圖源：上海新聞晨報(bào)
More dramatically, some attendees who bought tickets reported that Damai switched their tickets for improper trading. “The ticket number on the ticket is not the one I received in my order receipt,” one attendee named Miss Gao told The Esports Observer.
更戲劇化的是殉簸，有一些觀(guān)眾舉報(bào)大麥網(wǎng)出于不正當(dāng)交易的動(dòng)機(jī)掉包了他們的門(mén)票闰集。“門(mén)票上的編碼同我訂單數(shù)據(jù)中給出的編碼是不一致的”一位名為高小姐的觀(guān)眾告訴TEO
The Shanghai Morning Post, a Shanghai government-backed newspaper, printed an entire page reporting that Damai is in a possible partnership with scalper organizations. One scalper told the Shanghai Morning Post that Damai is cooperating with “big” scalpers and that they hold most of the second-floor tickets. Either Perfect World and Damai (both involved in facilitating ticket sales in China for TI) have not made official comments at the time of writing.
上海晨報(bào)般卑，一家上海政府支持的報(bào)紙武鲁，印刷了一整版檢舉大麥可能同黃牛組織同流合污的報(bào)道。
**The Controversial Early Access Code **
<figcaption id="caption-attachment-66355" class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 3px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; color: rgb(160, 160, 160); text-align: center;">Credit: Valve</figcaption>
During the ticket sale dates in May, Valve announced a new rule in order to prevent scalping. Dota 2 players who owned a Battle Pass or an active DotaPlus subscription could receive an Early Access Code, which gave the holder a one-hour early head start to purchase a ticket after the opening sale time. Bad internet connections were common during the ticket sales process, and a number of Chinese programmers (as reported on multiple Chinese outlets) warned that the ticket system had a serious security hole that scalpers could use to develop third-party applications to bypass the process of typing in an Early Access Code. This helped scalpers get a few seconds ahead of Early Access customers to purchase a bunch of tickets. As of this writing, Perfect World and Damai have not made any official comments on these issues.
在五月門(mén)票售賣(mài)的時(shí)候蝠检，V社宣布了一個(gè)新的規(guī)定以防止黃牛行為沐鼠。任何擁有Dota2TI9小本子或者曾購(gòu)買(mǎi)過(guò)Dota Plus的玩家都可以收到一個(gè)優(yōu)先購(gòu)買(mǎi)碼，這個(gè)碼可以給持有者提前一小時(shí)購(gòu)買(mǎi)門(mén)票的權(quán)利叹谁。在購(gòu)票過(guò)程中饲梭，糟糕的網(wǎng)絡(luò)是一個(gè)常態(tài)，同時(shí)有許多中國(guó)的程序員警告聲稱(chēng)購(gòu)票系統(tǒng)存在嚴(yán)重的安全漏洞焰檩，以至于黃牛們可以通過(guò)運(yùn)用第三方插件的方式繞過(guò)特權(quán)碼輸入的環(huán)節(jié)搶先購(gòu)票憔涉，而這一漏洞幫助黃牛在特權(quán)碼持有玩家面前搶跑了數(shù)秒，進(jìn)而買(mǎi)走了大量的門(mén)票析苫。但在本文創(chuàng)作期間兜叨，完美世界以及大麥網(wǎng)都還未就此事做出任何官方回應(yīng)。
Sources close to Perfect World told The Esports Observer that
- According to the policy, all tickets had to be paper.
- Daimai is the exclusive ticket selling partner of Mercedes-Benz Arena, and Perfect World/Valve had no other choice but to use the company.
根據(jù)完美內(nèi)部或相關(guān)人士爆料稱(chēng)：
按照規(guī)定藤违，所有的門(mén)票必須是紙質(zhì)
大麥?zhǔn)敲繁紙?chǎng)館的唯一票務(wù)方浪腐，完美和V社對(duì)此都別無(wú)選擇。
Who’s Taking Responsibility for TI9 Ticket Scalping?
誰(shuí)應(yīng)該對(duì)TI9黃牛問(wèn)題負(fù)責(zé)呢顿乒？
<figcaption id="caption-attachment-66356" class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 3px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; color: rgb(160, 160, 160); text-align: center;">Credit: Valve</figcaption>
At the time of writing, no one from game publisher Valve, Chinese Dota 2distributor Perfect World, or ticket selling platform Damai have made any comments on the ticket scalping situation or taken responsibility. When faced with similar issues, Tencent and Riot Games made a number of decisions to make sure that tickets are sold fairly for its events.
在本文寫(xiě)作期間议街，沒(méi)有任何一條來(lái)自Dota2開(kāi)發(fā)商V社的，或者是來(lái)自國(guó)內(nèi)運(yùn)營(yíng)商完美世界璧榄，或者是票務(wù)售賣(mài)平臺(tái)大麥就票務(wù)倒賣(mài)現(xiàn)象做出評(píng)論或表明承擔(dān)責(zé)任特漩。而面對(duì)相似問(wèn)題時(shí)，騰訊以及拳頭公司卻做出了一系列決定以確保旗下的賽事門(mén)票售賣(mài)是公平公正的骨杂。
On July 22, TJ Sports, a joint venue of Tencent and Riot Games, announced ticket purchasing rules for its* League of Legends *Pro League (LPL). All tickets have to be purchased by using a Chinese national ID-card, and attendees need to bring their own national ID-cards and a corresponding ticket to the venue. For the non-Chinese audience, attendees will require a passport and a ticket.
在6.22日涂身，騰競(jìng)體育，一家由騰訊以及拳頭公司共同投資運(yùn)營(yíng)的公司搓蚪，宣布針對(duì)其旗下LPL（英雄聯(lián)盟職業(yè)聯(lián)賽）的門(mén)票購(gòu)買(mǎi)蛤售，必須運(yùn)用身份證實(shí)名購(gòu)買(mǎi)，且購(gòu)票者需攜帶購(gòu)票時(shí)相一致的身份證憑票入場(chǎng)。而對(duì)于外國(guó)觀(guān)眾悴能，則需要護(hù)照以及對(duì)應(yīng)門(mén)票揣钦。
Scalpers told The Esports Observer that the final two-day tickets of TI9 are ￥7K-10K RMB (1.4K USD) each, and elimination two-day tickets are ￥1.5K (
298) for the August 24-25 two-day ticket, and ￥250 (
993-
298)，周中淘汰賽門(mén)票￥250 ($35)每天炒嘲。
Sources close to the TI participating teams told The Esports Observer that each team only has 20 VIP tickets for its staff, sponsor leaders, and players’ families.
根據(jù)TI參賽隊(duì)伍的內(nèi)部消息稱(chēng)宇姚，每一支戰(zhàn)隊(duì)共有20張VIP票提供給他們的員工，贊助商以及選手家屬夫凸。
For example, esports team PSG.LGD has ten sponsors, including Betway, HLA Jeans, Monster Energy, and China Citic Bank Credit Card. Tong “CU” Xin, the CEO of esports organization Newbee, who recently acquired the full roster of Forward Gaming to attend TI this year, joked to The Esports Observer that VIP tickets are incredibly high priced on the scalper market.
比如說(shuō),PSG.LGD共有10家贊助商浑劳，包括必威電競(jìng)，黑鯨夭拌，魔爪飲料以及中信信用卡呀洲。最近收購(gòu)了FWD全部人馬的Newbee戰(zhàn)隊(duì)CEO佟鑫調(diào)侃VIP票在黃牛市場(chǎng)上的價(jià)格可是相當(dāng)?shù)母摺?/p>
(*Editor note: VIP tickets are not available for purchase by the public, but can be bought from scalpers with a minimum price ￥15K (2.12K)的價(jià)格買(mǎi)到最終決賽的門(mén)票啼止。
In the esports industry, young people are the major players and customers; most of them are students, and highly unlikely to afford hundreds to thousands of dollars to buy tournament tickets.
在電競(jìng)產(chǎn)業(yè)中，年輕人是主要的玩家以及客戶(hù)兵罢；他們其中絕大多數(shù)都是學(xué)生献烦，并且也很大程度不可能負(fù)擔(dān)的起數(shù)百美元的賽事門(mén)票。
“For those who didn’t successfully purchase and [are] not able to afford tickets, they should blame themselves. [they are not quick to purchase and they don’t have money],” a scalper said, “We don’t know Dota 2 or esports, but all our tickets were collected from multiple individual customers, including poor students. In some ways, we are helping them to get a better life. Does Dota 2give them money?”
“對(duì)于那些沒(méi)成功買(mǎi)到也支付不起（高價(jià)）門(mén)票的人卖词，他們應(yīng)該怪自己巩那，他們不夠快，也沒(méi)足夠多的的錢(qián)”此蜈，一位黃牛這樣說(shuō)即横，“我們不知道Dota2或者電競(jìng)，但我們所有的票都是從許多個(gè)體持票者手上收來(lái)的裆赵，包括窮學(xué)生东囚。某種程度來(lái)說(shuō)，我們給了他們更好的生活战授，Dota2給他們發(fā)錢(qián)了嗎页藻？”
It’s reasonable that when the ticket price broke a significant point, some purchasers would sell their tickets to scalpers. In some ways, in this scenario, everyone could become a scalper without an authoritative body to make some rules on what a ticket buyer can do with a ticket after purchase.
當(dāng)票價(jià)達(dá)到了一個(gè)很驚人的數(shù)額之后，一些購(gòu)買(mǎi)者會(huì)將自己手上的票出給黃牛其實(shí)是合情合理的植兰。這種情況下份帐，其實(shí)人人都有可能是黃牛，因?yàn)闆](méi)有一個(gè)官方指定規(guī)則限制門(mén)票的二次出售楣导。
In addition, there are a few customers who reported that they got cheated by scalpers who sold them fake tickets. Ultimately the only people who get hurt by scalpers and the mismanagement of tickets sales are consumers who can’t get access to a ticket at a reasonable price, and who might find themselves out in the cold when they realize the ticket they bought is counterfeit. Valve and Perfect World may also take a hit to their reputations in the long run, for the way ticket sales were managed.
除此之外废境，還有一些消費(fèi)者檢舉聲稱(chēng)他們被賣(mài)假票的黃牛騙了。而最終真正因?yàn)辄S牛和票務(wù)管理失當(dāng)而受到傷害的人們有且僅有那些無(wú)法以一個(gè)合理價(jià)格購(gòu)買(mǎi)到門(mén)票的消費(fèi)者們，還有那些心涼到冰窖底的發(fā)現(xiàn)自己買(mǎi)的是假票的玩家噩凹。V社和完美從長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)角度來(lái)看也有可能因?yàn)樗麄冊(cè)愀獾钠眲?wù)管理而在名聲上受損巴元。
<figcaption id="caption-attachment-66360" class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 3px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; color: rgb(160, 160, 160); text-align: center;">Credit: Valve</figcaption>
TI is a classic esports tournament series which uses a crowdfunding system to generate revenue for the total prize pool. This year, TI surpassed 1.6M of that prize money was provided by Valve. As the only esports tournament series to take the crown of “highest prize money in esports history,” TI9 generated
94.2M was earned by Valve due to only 25% of Battle Pass purchases being added into that prize pool.
TI是一項(xiàng)運(yùn)用眾籌系統(tǒng)為總獎(jiǎng)池增添籌碼的經(jīng)典電競(jìng)賽事栓始。今年的TI超越了3300萬(wàn)美元的獎(jiǎng)金額务冕，而其中僅有160萬(wàn)源自V社。作為僅有的一項(xiàng)戴著“電競(jìng)史上最高獎(jiǎng)金賽事”王冠的電競(jìng)比賽幻赚，TI9今年從社區(qū)中通過(guò)虛擬產(chǎn)品的售賣(mài)產(chǎn)生了3140萬(wàn)美元的獎(jiǎng)金禀忆，而9420萬(wàn)美元卻落入了V社的腰包，因?yàn)閮H有25%的互動(dòng)指南銷(xiāo)售額會(huì)被添加進(jìn)最終的總獎(jiǎng)池中落恼。
TI only has partnerships with NVIDIA’s GeForce gaming/hardware brand and Secretlab as its official chair provider, so in many ways, the Dota 2 community is the “main sponsor” of The International.
TI只和NVIDIA’s GeForce 這家硬件廠(chǎng)商有商業(yè)合作箩退，同時(shí)將Secretlab列為其官方電競(jìng)椅的提供商，所以從各方面來(lái)看佳谦，整個(gè)Dota2社區(qū)才是TI的“主要贊助商”
