Alibaba-owned Damai said it will investigate complaints from esports fans who turned on the online ticketing website after missing out on the chance to attend this year’s League of Legends World Championship at Beijing’s iconic ‘Bird’s Nest’ Olympic Stadium.
Tickets for the event – which is taking place in China for the first time – went on sale last week and sold out within moments before almost immediately being offered on resale sites for up to $3,000 (£2,250/€2,600) – around 20 times the highest face value admission.
Fans that missed out on tickets for the Bird’s Nest (pictured) took to social media to complain of the Damai website being sluggish and unresponsive.
Damai, the largest live entertainment and digital distribution platform in China, initially said it had underestimated consumer demand and suffered technical glitches from the heavy traffic. With some accusing it of it being in league with scalpers, the company added that it had no illicit dealings with resellers.
Damai has now said in a statement that it will collect evidence from net users — including transaction records — regarding the sale of second-hand tickets originally obtained from its online platform.
Alibaba completed its takeover of Damai in March, three years after its initial investment in the company.
At the time, Alibaba said that the acquisition “fits nicely into our ‘health and happiness’ strategy and forms a strategic part of the value chain in our media and entertainment business”.
“Damai will be a powerful platform to distribute our media content as well as expand our user reach and engagement,” Alibaba said.
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