KRAFTON completes regional championship ahead of schedule PUBG Asian Star This follows a scandal involving alleged stream sniping by Vietnamese players and criticism of organizers’ actions. The remaining competitions will not be played and the prize money will be distributed equally among all participants.
Launched on September 17, PUBG Asia Stars brings together players and streamers from South Korea, China, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam. As early as day one, there was evidence that some representatives of the Vietnamese team could receive information about what was happening during the match because they watched their opponents’ live broadcasts. Korean team members and spectators collected information about the incident and asked organizers to take action.
Crafton did not immediately suspend the alleged player, which drew criticism from players and spectators alike. Under this circumstance, eight players from the Korean team boycotted the competition and refused to participate in the competition on September 19. In addition, the conflict escalated into a showdown between South Korean and Vietnamese users on social networks.
As a result, on September 19, KRAFTON expelled two players from the Vietnamese team and stated that it had confirmed the fact of live broadcast sniping. And on September 20, the organizer announced the cancellation of the remaining matches and deprived the offending players of their official partner status of PUBG Vietnam.
The company emphasized that the investigation is ongoing and does not intend to draw conclusions based on assumptions about specific regions or participants. If other violations are discovered, KRAFTON promises to take further measures in accordance with the event rules. The organizer also promised to separately announce the compensation for the cancellation of the competition.
The scandal also led to the suspension of tournament sponsorship. Coffee brand Baek Eok Coffee has announced that it will temporarily suspend promotional materials, menus and activities related to its sponsorship of PUBG Asia Stars. The Kkanbu Chicken chain has also suspended promotions and events related to the tournament, pending information on the outcome of an investigation into the organizers and measures to prevent such a situation from happening.
