Could Indonesian VALORANT pros get banned if they refuse to play at SEA Games 2023?
Comments made by a top official in the country sparked a response from BOOM Esports' CEO
A top official at Pengurus Besar Esports Indonesia (PBESI), also known as the Executive Board of Indonesian Esports, has suggested that any VALORANT professionals or teams in the country that are hesitant to compete for Indonesia in the 2023 Southeast Asian Games could face consequences.
Frengky Ong, the secretary general of the committee, posted a question on his private Instagram account on the matter.
“Is GP [game publisher] going to strictly sanction a 6-month ban from all tournaments, competitions and leagues in Indonesia for VALORANT teams and athletes who refuse to represent their country without a clear reason?” Ong posted in Bahasa Indonesia.
The PBESI secretary general compared these VALORANT players to the MPL (Mobile Legends Professional League) and the PMPL (PUBG Mobile Pro League) pros, who were said to be good examples of excellent synergy for Indonesia.
“The team and its athletes did not participate in the world championships in Brazil and Korea. They are now in Jakarta,” Ong said.
He added that the training and location of pros from these leagues did not come in conflict with the country’s selection and training.”
Ong also implied in another one of his Instagram stories that the VALORANT athletes were declining to represent the country in the upcoming SEA games because it “wasn’t financially rewarding”.
Not Ong's first comments on the matter
This was not the first time the PBESI secretary-general ruffled a few feathers with his Instagram posts.
Last week, screenshots by Instagram user valorant.esports.media showed Ong saying that a team reached out to the committee to request to be the ones to represent the country.
According to him, this request was denied since “all children of the nation must have the same opportunity to defend their country through a process which is fair”.
This was followed by BOOM Esports CEO Gary Ongko Putera responding to the story an hour later, saying, “I never asked for our team to be picked.”
Instead, he suggested doing a qualifier or choosing the Split 1 winner to represent the country in the upcoming SEA games, as shared in the screenshots by valorant.esports.media.
“Why? Simple, Ascension is 1-2 weeks after SEA Games. No teams who want to go to [the VALORANT] franchise would want to have their team split up and can't practice for Ascension, so they can practice with a mixed team and prepare for SEA Games (3 weeks expected bootcamp before SEA games),” BOOM's CEO said.
Winners of the VALORANT Ascension League will be franchised and be able to compete at the VALORANT Champions Tour in 2024.
"Indonesia has been very successful in esports in the last 5 years, but none of us are involved, and we always make ourselves available,” he wrote.
The BOOM Esports CEO also confirmed that he sent his team to the national selection, but players had different personal reasons to decline, which he understood.
The PBESI merged with the Indonesian Esports Association (IESPA) and enforced a rulebook in early 2022 that requires every event organiser holding an esports event in the country to have its approval and recommendation.
PBESI’s vision, according to their website, was to “develop and promote a stable esports ecosystem that can make Indonesia to the esports leader in the Asian region”.
They also aim to “make Indonesia the most active and attractive esports centre of Asia”.
The organisation has yet to respond or follow up on the statements made by Frengky Ong.
Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.
For more esports news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooEsportsSEA and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page and Twitter, as well as our Gaming channel on YouTube.
