SEA Games: Valorant ends up with 2 gold medalists, here's why

Angela Coloma, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Courtesy: Riot Games" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/overseas/05/11/dedcypr.jpg"/><figcaption><em>Courtesy: Riot Games</em></figcaption></figure></div><p><strong>(2ND UPDATE) </strong>The first Valorant tournament in the Southeast Asian Games awarded joint gold medals to its finalists, following an hours long protest concerning an in-game bug exploited during the first-person shooting title&#x27;s debut in the biennial tilt, held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia this year. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/04/23/mpl-season-11-diggie-banned-for-entire-playoffs-due-to-bug">MPL Season 11: ML hero Diggie banned for entire playoffs due to bug</a></li></ul><p>In a technical pause that spanned nearly 12 hours, Indonesia&#x27;s national team disputed Singapore&#x27;s alleged use of a bug on Sentinel character Cypher&#x27;s cameras to get an advantage in holding the fort in Split during the gold medal match. </p><p>Singapore drew match point in Ascent, before piling up on a 10-4 lead in Split, where the technical pause was done. </p><p>Initially, Indonesia&#x27;s Valorant team forfeited the competition in protest. SEA Games ambassador Juanita Valezka Tanjung said on Instagram that the decision was to uphold &quot;the nation&#x27;s dignity and considering the unfavorable conditions of the situation,&quot; based on a translation by news portal VALO2ASIA. </p><p>Frengky Ong, secretary-general of Indonesia&#x27;s esports body, however, said their complaint was heard by two bodies and that both teams will be awarded gold as a result. </p><div><strong>WHAT HAPPENED TO CYPHER&#x27;S SPYCAM? </strong></div><p>One of the players, Rafi &quot;frostmind&quot; Diandra, shared screenshots of their May 7 conversation with organizers where they asked about specific bugs on Sentinel character Cypher, that could be exploited by the opponents side. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/10/23/sea-games-valorant-team-cops-2nd-bronze-for-esports">SEA Games 2023: Valorant team cops 2nd bronze for esports</a></li></ul><p>One of Cypher&#x27;s main utilities, &quot;Spycam&quot; allows him to install a surveillance camera that he could use to check if an enemy is entering a site. He can also move the camera&#x27;s point of view around. Opponents can only destroy the camera by shooting it with a gun. </p><p>Singapore&#x27;s Spycam was placed on a barrier on Rafters in the A site, which Indonesia alleges was done because of a game bug. Through the bug, the camera, they claimed, would see Indonesia&#x27;s direction from their spawning area, a move that could potentially give Singapore a heads up as to which site they will take. </p><p>When frostmind asked on a certain camera placement&#x27;s eligibility, an organizer, in a message sent on May 7, said &quot;no means you can&#x27;t use, it&#x27;s not allowed.</p><div><strong>ANALYSTS SAY &#x27;NOT A BUG&#x27; </strong></div><p>Valorant analyst vladk0r pointed out that the Spycam Singapore used cannot see behind the barrier, which he said will not quantify for a bug exploitation. Malaysian coach Fayde, who has coached all-Pinoy Valorant team Team Secret in the past, also agreed. </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Cam 1 = &quot;bug cam&quot; that can see into spawn like this video : <a href="https://t.co/1ey0F1Cj1k">https://t.co/1ey0F1Cj1k</a><br/><br/>Cam 2 = Normal Camera that sees into A main/front barrier<br/><br/>Cam 2 can&#x27;t even tilt the camera and look into spawn, and that&#x27;s the one Team SG used (<a href="https://t.co/8DKgXHWNMO">https://t.co/8DKgXHWNMO</a>)<br/><br/>Resume the match… <a href="https://t.co/J4HrnUdgaE">pic.twitter.com/J4HrnUdgaE</a></p>— Fayde (@FaydeVLR) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaydeVLR/status/1656296173332992000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2023</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>&quot;[The camera] can&#x27;t even tilt the camera and look into spawn, and that&#x27;s the one Team SG used,&quot; Fayde said. </p><p>&quot;A lot of this came up from a lot of miscommunication,&quot; Indonesia head coach Yohannes Paraloan Siagian told Agence France-Presse, adding that they &quot;have nothing against our opponents.&quot; </p><p>&quot;It was more that we felt that the way this event was being run did not make for a fair, balanced playing field.&quot;</p><p>Singapore&#x27;s players were not on the podium, having flown home after the awarding. But Singapore National Olympic Council&#x27;s spokespersosn said it accepted the decision and congratulated Indonesia on the joint victory.</p><p>&quot;We are pleased to win Singapore&#x27;s first gold medal in esports,&quot; it added.</p><p>The win was Singapore&#x27;s first gold medal for esports since the category was introduced in 2019, when the Philippines hosted the SEA Games. </p><p>The Philippine national team took the bronze after succumbing to Indonesia to open the semifinal rounds. </p><div><strong>-- With reports from Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><br/><strong>For more stories on the 32nd Southeast Asian Games, click <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/seagames2023" target="_blank">here</a>. </strong></div>

(UPDATED) The Valorant tournament of the Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia will have two gold medalists after Indonesia protested an alleged exploitation of an in-game bug by Singapore. 

SEA Games: Valorant ends up with 2 gold medalists, here's why | ABS-CBN

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SEA Games: Valorant ends up with 2 gold medalists, here's why

SEA Games: Valorant ends up with 2 gold medalists, here's why

Angela Coloma,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 11, 2023 12:48 PM PHT

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Updated May 12, 2023 01:01 AM PHT

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