There are a lot of sports featured in the SEA Games, and you may be surprised to know that there are more here than there are in the Olympics.
And you may not have known that e-sports is also featured in the SEA games.
E-sports are multiplayer video games which are played competitively with spectators.
It’s not uncommon to hear about fierce rivalries between teams of other sports like football, but it seems that some enemies are being made in the world of e-sports.
Despite the most shocking news from the SEA Games, which was Singapore losing 7-0 to Malaysia, our country has taken home several victories, including one in e-sports.
But some Indonesians are not happy about this.
Singapore Being Labelled as a Cheater?
The gold medal wasn’t won solely by Singapore but was a joint medal between our nation and Indonesia.
Singapore defeated Indonesia, Malaysia and Cambodia in the group stage of the Mixed Valorant (PC) team event final before progressing to the semi-finals to beat Vietnam 2-0.
In the finals against Indonesia, Singapore was leading in the first two games, but an issue raised by Indonesia caused the grand final to be postponed.
Indonesia alleged that the Singapore team used a Cypher bug to track their rival’s positions during the game. However, Singapore Esports Association (SGEA) secretary Kelvin Tan said that the rules did not state that Cypher bugs were prohibited.
The deliberations took so long that both teams had to stay till 3 am until the match on Wednesday (10 May) was eventually postponed to the following day at 8 am.
The Indonesian team walked off the stage when the match restarted at 5-5 the following day.
The two teams eventually agreed to share the gold medal.
Online Threats
Indonesian fans were not happy with the decision, claiming that Singapore cheated.
They flooded the comments section of SGEA’s Instagram post, with many of them mentioning “bug abuse” in their comments.
Some said that winning the competition by cheating is something to be ashamed of, as the media has documented it, and the evidence will be here forever.
Others said they were undeserving of the gold medal after being found to use the bug.
Comments were shaming the team as well.
The Singapore team comprised Ayrton “Artn” Soh, Yeoh “Divine” Chun Ting, Ingram “FREY” Tan, Marcus “Nephh” Tan Rodman “Vera” Yap and Tidus “STYRON” Goh.
Goh posted a tweet stating that while the deliberations were ongoing, he was already receiving threats on social media.
The tweet also detailed the experience the players had throughout the long wait before a decision was finally made.
He reinforced that the team had thoroughly read and followed the rules, and there was no sign of cheating whatsoever.
Valorant is probably downloaded on your PC if you’re a huge gamer, but for some of us boomers unfamiliar with it, here’s what it is.
Valorant is a first-person tactical hero shooter game. It is set in the near future, and players can choose which of the 20 Agents they want to be. These Agents all have different characteristics, like where they are from.
The Agents also have special abilities, and weapons can be purchased throughout the game, such as assault rifles and shotguns.
The game is played as a team of five, assigned as an attacking or defending team during the game.