Mr. Santi Lothong, President of the Thai E-Sports Federation, confirmed that this unit has decided to withdraw the Women's Team of the Military-Civilian Mobile (AOV) from the 33rd SEA Games, although according to the competition schedule, the team still has a losing match in the final round.
"I would like to announce that Thailand will withdraw the AOV women's team from the 33rd SEA Games - the Games in which Thailand is the host country. We always respect the rules, friendship and sportsmanship. What happened may have gone beyond the usual scope of responsibility, because this is a serious problem. As the host, we cannot let the tournament continue in this way" - Mr. Santi Lothong said.
This fraud scandal in the Lien Quan Mobile event is shocking the Thai sports and eSports community. Many fans of the host country believe that this is an act that seriously damages national honor at a regional sporting event.
In addition, Mr. Santi Lothong also thanked the Lao women's team: "Thank you to the athletes of the Lao national team for stepping onto the stage to help maintain the image of Thailand".
Just two hours before the withdrawal decision was announced, the Thai E-Sports Association confirmed that athlete Naphat Warasin (nickname Tokyogirl) was eliminated from the 33rd SEA Games. This decision was made after the above player seriously violated technical regulations during the competition.
She was determined to have used unauthorized third-party software or interfered with and edited the competition equipment in the match on December 15.
With the Federation's decision to withdraw, Thailand officially left the 33rd SEA Games in this event, meaning that Vietnam and Laos will compete again in the final, and the Women's Lien Quan Mobile event will have only three participating countries.
