Indonesia and Singapore’s VALORANT controversy at SEA Games 2023

The 32nd Southeast Asian Games are underway and we have just concluded with the first-ever Valorant SEA Games 2023. Interestingly, a massive controversy leads to a joint gold medal for both Team Indonesia and Singapore.

The three-day event featured six Southeast Asian nations competing for medals in the capital city of Cambodia. After two intense days of action, we finally reached the two finalists: Singapore and Indonesia. The final was played across five maps, and the team that won the first three maps would secure the gold medal. Team Singapore had already taken a one-map lead. However, during the second map on Split, when Indonesia was trailing 4-10, the game suddenly went on a technical pause and apparently never resumed.

Team Singapore abusing Cypher bug: Team Indonesia

Later, it was revealed that the Indonesian team accused Team Singapore of exploiting a Cypher camera bug that had been overlooked by the management. They blamed their opponents for placing Cypher’s camera in a way that was difficult to spot, giving them a tactical advantage. As a result, the administration team called for a technical break to address the Indonesian team’s grievances. Fans assumed that the issue would be resolved soon and the game would resume, but ultimately, the day was called off without the game continuing.

Shedding light on the matter, ENGM Tidus “STYRON“ Goh, who serves as the in-game leader (IGL) of the Enigma Gaming Singapore Valorant roster, explained that while many Cypher camera positions had been validated in previous VCT events, the bug utilized by Team Singapore was entirely different. It was also reported that the Singaporean team patiently waited for several hours and even agreed to accept penalties. However, the Indonesian team decided to forfeit the finals.

Indonesia and Singapore shared the gold medal

Since Team Indonesia decided to forfeit the match, their counterpart Team Singapore became a clear choice for the gold medal. Interestingly, SYTRON also reported that Singapore players were given a choice to decide whether they want to share the gold medal or stay in the mess for a few weeks until official clearance on this issue. Singapore chose the first option.

Whatever the case, the Secretary General of the Indonesian Sports Center -Frengky Ong revealed that Indonesia is ready to share the gold medal with Singapore. Not to mention, this was one of the rarest moments when no silver medalist was announced. However, the status of the Bronze medal is quite clear where both Vietnam and the Philippines on 3rd spot were presented with Bronze medals.

Header: VALO2ASIA