A Union For Whom? Wings.gaming Players Fight Against Freeze Out
Image by Valve on Flickr
What happens when you’re no longer allowed at the lunch table? Reigning TI champions from wings.gaming are currently facing a ban, whether official or unofficial, on ACE tournaments, which is to say, all Chinese-run tournaments. The players—formerly of Team Random—are mired in a familiar, money-fueled Dota controversy that jeopardizes the future careers of its players, and the spotlight this case has taken has potential to set precedents for the future of Chinese Dota.
What Is ACE?
The Association of Chinese Esports is the governing organization for Dota in China. To sponsor a team in Dota, you must be a part of ACE. To play on a team in Dota, you must also be a part of ACE. And to hold a tournament in Dota—yes, you have to pay a fee to ACE. The organization is essentially part players union, part owners association, and part business—they’re tasked with the growth and marketing of the Esports. They’re the NBA and NBPA in one. Or FIFA.
That’s when conflicts of interest arise, such as in the case of the wings.gaming debacle, which involves three parties: ACE, the wings.gaming organization, and its five former players (shadow, bLink, faith_bian, y, and iceice). ACE purports to mediate disputes, but it’s difficult to be impartial when the organization’s leadership is helmed by team owners.
What’s The Problem?
The details are still murky about what fractured the relationship between wings.gaming and its players (money, money, and money), but the result is that the players left and started their own independent venture, Team Random. During this time, ACE and its committee of team managers convened to place an indefinite boycott (no scrimming, no tournaments) against the players, while they were settling their dispute with wings.gaming.
Though the players have said the dispute has been settled, the boycott still stands. The players are essentially on a blacklist, untouchable by other teams under ACE. EHOME recruited Y and Faith_bian and reportedly left ACE as opposed to being banned from it, though the question remains whether they could've stayed within ACE's grasp with these two players. As a result of EHOME's exit, EHOME.K was promptly banned from playing NESO.
Some members of the community have voiced that it’s a vindictive move by ACE, because the existence of an independent, Chinese team with potential to succeed is a threat to their business. They do have a right to act in their own best interest when one party, as commonly cited in American sports, participates in “conduct detrimental to the league or team”. But a ban is one of the most severe punishments a sports organization can deliver. Last year, NFL player Josh Brown was suspended for one game. It was for domestic abuse.
The ex-players from wings.gaming are banned indefinitely, a situation that essentially suspends their pay and affects their ability to make a living playing Dota. Team Random no longer exists. Its players have drifted from each other, and all of them are floating in limbo, like players leftover after a roster lockout date.
One recourse left for these exiled Chinese players is to relocate to greener pastures. Teams today no longer resemble the region they represent. The rosters of EG and Team Secret are filled with players from around the world. Veteran Dota player Black has played for four different regions.
Will Valve Step In?
Valve has had a history of enacting policies that favor players over organizations. They stepped in to protect Era, who was being edged out of Team Fnatic before TI. And the proceeding lockout rules, and its amendments, aim to establish stability in the scene, such that rosters can’t shuffle players on a whim before a major tournament.
Valve does have its own set of rules, though sometimes vague, for participating in their tournaments. They determine who gets invites, who gets invited to qualifiers, and the tournament format it all happens in. Considering the payouts for TI ($20.8 million in 2016) dwarf every other tournament, they can have everyone else accede to their rules.
But ACE tournaments aren’t Valve tournaments. The question is also what control Valve has over the way other regions grow and organize their tournament scenes. It just happens that ACE has a monopolistic hold on the Chinese industry. In this situation, it’s less about which party is right and which is wrong, but rather that one party, the players, is disproportionately misrepresented. Both players and organizations will need to realize they’re mutually dependent on each other—a fact that’s being forgotten as more money pours into the scene.
I claim it.
k
Good read, sad story -- the real point to remember is the conflict of interest between ACE (run by owners) and the players. Not really a surprise that a governing organization sides with its masters. For the system to have a chance of functioning impartially for dispute resolution, ACE has to be restructured or (probably better), replaced by a neutral organization that the owners and the players can trust to be neutral. Sounds iffy.
Really a shame it happened to wings too, they were so fun to watch.
:) gg CHIna
It's easy to criticize this from the outside but china's way of organizing provided many ways for new blood to pop into the scene while keeping old boys in the spotlight. We shouldn't judge them as an irrational block, there are too many unknowns to do so.
Perhaps the contracts for new players are shit since they are a great risk and only in the case of wings payed off. If so wings are reaping the benefits to continue to be able to make many such bets and Ace is protecting this.
Maybe I'm talking out of my ass.
Gg,afk base
Who gives a fuck about the asians of dota lmao, arent they the cancer of dota?
I don't really get the whole situation but banning a Chinese pro gamer from pro gaming in China, as he can't communicate well in other languages, is like ripping off the life of him
Yeah I agree the language barrier is probably what is keeping a lot of Chinese players from joining other international teams.
How is this a surprise? Where there's money, there's politics, there's corruption and there's an abuse of power.
Wings.FOREVER YOUNG :)
move to europe, problem solved.
jk
I hate drama in my videogames.
I suspect some would leave, but visas and/or leaving China when so famous could be problematical.
Based on everything I've read, Wings got screwed by ACE and the princeling team owners. Too bad.
who cares, wings is dogshit right now as every TI winner chinese team
classic one hit wonder team.
China... nuff said
1 hit wonder or not. I wouldn't mind being a 1 hit wonder for the grand prize they received..
ACE needs to be taught a harsh lesson. Ban them for participating IT 17 as sponsorship and hosting privilege to make them lose revenue!
While providing ACE associated players, not organizations, something such as out of jail cards and extra time to form their roster without representing their nationality like secret, eg.
Currently the Enchanted Mango has but a mere 40.75% win rate. It is our duty as players of this wondrous game to give this item the respect it deserves. Please help in this community's effort to keep this win rate afloat. Thank you in advance for your compliance.
I love that the article says the players are now called Faith_bYan, IcieIce (do you pronounce that icee ice?!) and that TI was $29 million... did eggs type this while drunk?
CHINA NUMBAH ONE
ELEGIGGLE
This sad story remind me the problem on Team Secret before, about puppey taking 10% of the player payment
When teams get blacklisted/excommunicated and banned from scrimming and being part of. It's no wonder that former Wings. players execution and winning formula has deteriorated; For them to remain at the top they need to be able to practice with the best.
Sad story.
Hope they can join a foreign team but its unlikely
Very sad how this monopoly can BAN anyone from a FREE to PLAY game? FREE TO MAKE MONEY GAME!!! :O who the FFFF do they think they are banning someone from attending different teams, etc.
Yeah, so the government of China killed dota in its community, Valve needs to step in and squash the group of idiots causing this mess, and allow them to rethink they stupid rules they're upholding..
@lang the eastern Europeans are the scum of the community; Asians did nothing to worsen any situations :D just a language barrier we need to fix :D the dota2 Translator can fix that
И тут я болт свой из штанов достал и давай дрочить...
Бляя тупа жиза
The problem with chinese esport scene is that there are too many useless un-involved third party who constantly interfere with competitive scene. I understand that sport can't be 100% pure as there will always be some commercial and business aspect. In America or Europe for examples, esport is just players that excels in the game forming a team and compete for tournament prize. Some organization can be formed to provide players with regular training and giving player salary but that's it. In China, however, it is so much more complicated. There are so many people who are not currently playing competitively but have a say and impact the competitive scene. Those people are, retired players who are constantly thinking getting back, caster who has too much personal opinion of how people should play instead of just making a entertaining host, organization that tries very hard to gain profit from esport without participating but through marketing, and old dota players who have a fan base but no long plays. Those people are a big percentage of this esport scene and it makes chinese players suffer. Imaging you are playing a tournament trying to earn that money for self-interest, now you have to worry judgment and interference coming from this group of people who basically have nothing to do with dota.
Forget everything I just said, who won China TI6 when the entire chinese dota scene performed so disappointingly despite the fact they had so much expectation before TI? Newbee? Ehome? Whatever team Burning was in? NO, it is those new people. And yet now they are banned because of an organization called ACE who has fucking nothing to do with dota. when players with skills are not valued but organization that doesn't even fucking play have a say,No wonder chinese dota declined over the years
China are just ducking fat little greedy money grubbing shifts! Why are ACE exhausting every effort to destroy DotA2 pro scene?!
ACE want to boycott the greatest TI team of champions ever to grace Dota? Maybe Valve should boycott ACE! That way all the teams in China that are obligated to go through them will no longer do so! Valve should control the flux of these players, not independent greedy Kunts like ACE.
Boycott China!
The fact is there isn't any dota2 player like ACE.
There is a common saying about ACE in chinese : GTMDACE, which translate to " fuck you ACE". You can see the spam of "GTMDACE" all the time
However, ACE is backed up by the investor and the owner of the team to ensure their interest. Sadly, the money talks at end of the day.
Society sigh.
sad wings
Telling you guys that ACE is just a joke, an organisation that really ruin Chinese pro players. The aim for that organisation is to protect CEO's profits. Pretty sure that is an illegal union.
TNC TNC TNC <3