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).
电子竞技作为世界上发展最为迅猛的一个产业，已经迅速获得了大量的粉丝和观众，而这要归功于比如twitch一类的流媒体服务以及许多重要的电竞赛事比如LOL世界赛，CS：GO的major以及DOTA2的国际邀请赛。
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.
然而尽管粉丝，参与者以及赞助商对这些“重于生命”的电竞活动有着极大的激情，总有那么一群人是只想着赚快钱的。到了今年的TI，没有人能够比黄牛（大量囤积门票或者仿制，再以高价倒卖的人群）以及和他们同流合污的组织用这种应当被质疑的手段更来钱。
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，电竞观察者会近距离观察这些黄牛到底是如何买到这么多本应该提供给TI粉丝的门票，以及权威和监管的缺乏对这电竞历史上奖金最高的赛事带来的影响。
**Massive Chaos in TI9 Ticket Sales **
TI9门票售卖的骚乱
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，中国的电竞业迎来了在上海举办的总奖池高达3300万美元的Dota2国际邀请赛（以下简称TI）。在8月20-25日，16支职业战队会在上海梅赛德斯奔驰文化中心，在18000名观众的见证下，争夺电竞史上的最高奖金。
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).
有一些来看TI9的观众从黄牛手上花了天价才买到门票进场。更过分的是，有一些从官方独家门票售卖商大麦手上买到正价门票的观众声称他们的门票被换到了观赛体验较差的区域（尤其是换到了更高处的看台席位，或者是那种需要抬起头来观赛的区域）
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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:
不同之前在美国，加拿大以及德国举办过的TI，此次是该项赛事首次来到中国，同时这也是第一次TI的门票售卖出现问题。以下的这些问题使得黄牛倒卖门票更为便利：
Paper Tickets for TI9
TI9的纸质化门票
<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，门票其实是塑料制作的胸牌。而由于本年用纸质票替代塑料材质门票，黄牛发现将门票携带至场馆附近并且售卖给粉丝们更为便捷了。除此之外，仿制门票也更为容易了。而对于粉丝而言，胸牌更具有纪念意义，同时也更难以仿制（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
图示：在线门票倒卖平台摩天轮根据位置标注的门票价格
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.
在每一个场馆，都会有最差以及最佳观赛体验的位置。而先前的TI中，座位是随机的，所以观众们并不能够选择他们的座次，进而保证了票务购买的公平性以及一个合理的价位。但这一次，座位号是印在门票上的，这就使得黄牛可以根据位置定价。正如上面图片所示，二层的座位价格是要高于五层的，同时更正对主舞台的位置也会有一个更高的价位。
<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>
大麦很可能同黄牛在TI9门票售卖上沆瀣一气 图源：上海新闻晨报
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.
更戏剧化的是，有一些观众举报大麦网出于不正当交易的动机掉包了他们的门票。“门票上的编码同我订单数据中给出的编码是不一致的”一位名为高小姐的观众告诉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.
上海晨报，一家上海政府支持的报纸，印刷了一整版检举大麦可能同黄牛组织同流合污的报道。
**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.
在五月门票售卖的时候，V社宣布了一个新的规定以防止黄牛行为。任何拥有Dota2TI9小本子或者曾购买过Dota Plus的玩家都可以收到一个优先购买码，这个码可以给持有者提前一小时购买门票的权利。在购票过程中，糟糕的网络是一个常态，同时有许多中国的程序员警告声称购票系统存在严重的安全漏洞，以至于黄牛们可以通过运用第三方插件的方式绕过特权码输入的环节抢先购票，而这一漏洞帮助黄牛在特权码持有玩家面前抢跑了数秒，进而买走了大量的门票。但在本文创作期间，完美世界以及大麦网都还未就此事做出任何官方回应。
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.
根据完美内部或相关人士爆料称：
按照规定，所有的门票必须是纸质
大麦是梅奔场馆的唯一票务方，完美和V社对此都别无选择。
Who’s Taking Responsibility for TI9 Ticket Scalping?
<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.
在本文写作期间，没有任何一条来自Dota2开发商V社的，或者是来自国内运营商完美世界，或者是票务售卖平台大麦就票务倒卖现象做出评论或表明承担责任。而面对相似问题时，腾讯以及拳头公司却做出了一系列决定以确保旗下的赛事门票售卖是公平公正的。
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，腾竞体育，一家由腾讯以及拳头公司共同投资运营的公司，宣布针对其旗下LPL（英雄联盟职业联赛）的门票购买，必须运用身份证实名购买，且购票者需携带购票时相一致的身份证凭票入场。而对于外国观众，则需要护照以及对应门票。
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)，周中淘汰赛门票¥250 ($35)每天。
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.
根据TI参赛队伍的内部消息称，每一支战队共有20张VIP票提供给他们的员工，赞助商以及选手家属。
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.
比如说,PSG.LGD共有10家赞助商，包括必威电竞，黑鲸，魔爪饮料以及中信信用卡。最近收购了FWD全部人马的Newbee战队CEO佟鑫调侃VIP票在黄牛市场上的价格可是相当的高。
(*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)的价格买到最终决赛的门票。
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.
在电竞产业中，年轻人是主要的玩家以及客户；他们其中绝大多数都是学生，并且也很大程度不可能负担的起数百美元的赛事门票。
“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?”
“对于那些没成功买到也支付不起（高价）门票的人，他们应该怪自己，他们不够快，也没足够多的的钱”，一位黄牛这样说，“我们不知道Dota2或者电竞，但我们所有的票都是从许多个体持票者手上收来的，包括穷学生。某种程度来说，我们给了他们更好的生活，Dota2给他们发钱了吗？”
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.
当票价达到了一个很惊人的数额之后，一些购买者会将自己手上的票出给黄牛其实是合情合理的。这种情况下，其实人人都有可能是黄牛，因为没有一个官方指定规则限制门票的二次出售。
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，还有一些消费者检举声称他们被卖假票的黄牛骗了。而最终真正因为黄牛和票务管理失当而受到伤害的人们有且仅有那些无法以一个合理价格购买到门票的消费者们，还有那些心凉到冰窖底的发现自己买的是假票的玩家。V社和完美从长远角度来看也有可能因为他们糟糕的票务管理而在名声上受损。
<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是一项运用众筹系统为总奖池增添筹码的经典电竞赛事。今年的TI超越了3300万美元的奖金额，而其中仅有160万源自V社。作为仅有的一项戴着“电竞史上最高奖金赛事”王冠的电竞比赛，TI9今年从社区中通过虚拟产品的售卖产生了3140万美元的奖金，而9420万美元却落入了V社的腰包，因为仅有25%的互动指南销售额会被添加进最终的总奖池中。
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 这家硬件厂商有商业合作，同时将Secretlab列为其官方电竞椅的提供商，所以从各方面来看，整个Dota2社区才是TI的“主要赞助商”
