On December 16, extremely bad news came out of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), which is currently in full swing: Thailand's "Arena of Valor" women's national team players were disqualified for cheating during the game.
Subsequently, the Thai E-Sports Federation (TESF) announced an even more impactful decision - to withdraw the entire women's team and give up the opportunity to compete for medals.
"Ghost fight"? TeamViewer unexpectedly appears on the field
The incident occurred in the upper bracket final between Thailand and Vietnam on December 15. Although the Thai team ended up losing 0-3, unusual behavior during the broadcast alerted officials.
After investigation, the Thai team's shooter Tokyoogurl (Warasin Naraphat) was confirmed to have violated the "Esports Technical Manual" and his competition equipment was found to contain the unauthorized third-party software TeamViewer.
The investigation pointed to the alarming possibility that players launched the remote desktop software TeamViewer during the game. Outsiders speculate that this is not a simple plug-in cheating, but that there may be a "top expert" remotely controlling her account to play on her behalf.
In addition to technical cheating, Tokyoogurl’s performance on the field has also caused great controversy. According to Thai media "Khaosod", during the series against Vietnam, she made an insulting gesture of raising her middle finger to the camera and was subsequently replaced midway through the game.
In response to the accusations, Tokyoogurl issued a statement saying he "never cheated." She argued that she felt unwell and went into a panic, and went to the hospital after the game. As for the middle-finger gesture, she explained it was just a joke to her stressed-out teammates.
Teammates are heartbroken and fired from the club at the speed of light
Although the Thai team already led Laos 1-0 in the loser's group final on December 16 and could advance to the gold medal match with just one more win, TESF still insisted on "fair competition above all else" and resolutely decided to withdraw the entire team.
This decision made teammates who were working hard to prepare for the game despair. Team member Givemeakiss posted a heartbreaking post on social media: "My heart was broken the moment I learned the truth." Talon, the professional club to which Tokyoogurl belongs, also showed an iron-handed approach and announced on December 16 that it would immediately terminate all contracts with it.
Do you think "the whole team withdraws" is a responsible behavior, or is it a secondary harm to other innocent teammates?