British FIFA player gets 2-year ban for matchfixing

2 January 2024

As esports in the UK and the rest of the world are becoming more and more recognised as a real sport, the amount of serious matchfixing and other forms of cheating also increases. Back in March of last year, for example, we wrote an article for our international sister site about the growing cheating problem in Dota 2, which eventually resulted in the banning of no less than 46 Chinese players.

This time though, the problem occurred much closer to home and has UK-based FIFA player Flynn “Deluxe” Smith at the centre of it. According to the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC), the young Brit was involved in what they call “corrupt behaviour that starkly violated the ESIC Anti-Corruption Code”. As a result of these accusations, “Deluxe” has been banned from competing in ESIC member tournaments and events for a period of two years, starting on April 4th 2023 and ending on April 3rd 2025.

Matchfixing allegations

While the ESIC has said that details of its investigation into “Deluxe” are confidential, the organisation did share when it found evidence for matchfixing by the player. Smith, who is a competitive gamer for betting company SIS Ltd according to his own LinkedIn page, played a high-stakes match against MAJOR on February 24th of last year. During this match, he exerted “improper influence on match outcomes” and participated in corrupt betting practices. The ESIC came to this conclusion after investigating match footage, analysing betting patterns and conducting interviews with the parties involved.

“Our comprehensive investigation into the matter involved examining match footage, reviewing betting patterns, and conducting interviews with relevant parties”, writes the ESIC on its own website, “While we must maintain confidentiality to protect the integrity of the investigation, we can share that the evidence collected pointed to Mr. Smith’s involvement in activities that contravened articles 2.1.1 and 2.1.2 of the ESIC Anti-Corruption Code. These activities include improper influence on match outcomes and involvement in corrupt betting practices. The gathered information was subsequently presented to Mr. Smith in a Notice of Charge.”

“Deluxe” accepts charges

Furthermore, according to the ESIC, “Deluxe” accepted the charges and agreed to a plea bargain arrangement. As a result, he has been banned from participating in any ESIC member tournament until April 3rd 2025. At the same time though, the player has said that he has been wrongfully accused, but that he did not want to dispute the charges laid on by the ESIC. He maintains that he did not commit the cited offense.

“I was wrongfully accused of this, there was never any clear evidence to say I was involved in match fixing”, Flynn said soon after accepting the charges, “Being a top player at the company, there was always an element of risk when losing to other players, as you are constantly expected to win. No real investigation was conducted and there was zero gameplay shown to me to confirm I was involved.”