Indonesian Team Protested In-Game Pauses by Sibol MLBB Squad

It took a while for the 31st SEA Games Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) event to officially conclude. This was due to the protest from the Indonesian (ID) team stating that the Philippines (PH) Sibol squad frequently requested a pause which may have distracted the players. The investigation lasted for two hours which delayed the Medal ceremony for the 31st SEA Games MLBB event. The Indonesian team’s protest was eventually dismissed due to a lack of evidence to back up its claim. The grand finals match concluded with the Philippines team taking the Gold medal while the Indonesian team settled for a Silver medal finish.

PH Sibol MLBB squad allegedly requested for a pause in between matches intentionally to distract the ID team

The grand finals match during the 31st SEA Games MLBB event was one of the highlights of the esports category in the biannual event. The rivalry between the Philippines and the Indonesian teams was settled on the big stage where the Philippines team prevailed and came forth as the champions.

However, after the grand finals concluded, fans waited for two hours before the Medal ceremony commenced. According to a report from World Today News, the delay was due to a protest from the Indonesian team, stating that the Philippines team allegedly abused the pause requests to distract its opponents.

The manager of the Indonesian National Esports team, Tjahjono Prasetyanto “The technical handbook states that five pause requests are given to teams. Second, we have submitted an appeal regarding the pause, whether it was intentional or not.”

The PH team allegedly started a paused game without notifying the referee in advance. This may have resulted in the ID team being caught off guard which made it easy for the opposing team to engage.

Tjahjono added that “this means that if it is intentional, the mood of the players who are playing is disturbed. It should be fair if the pause is about to be revoked, it is informed. On average, they play again. They do things like that.”

The investigation was eventually dismissed due to the lack of recorded conversation from the athletes during the grand finals match.

“We protested to the committee, only they said it was not proven. Usually, there is a recording of esports matches. This doesn’t exist at all. So it’s paused for what can’t be known,” stated Tjahjono.

According to one of the Indonesian athletes Rivaldi “R7” Fatah, the team did not have enough time to prepare due to the schedule, which may be a lesson the team needs to consider in the future. “The match is in the morning, though. We are still not used to it. Maybe it will be a lesson for us too. The conditions are not conducive because there are a lot of connection problems,” stated R7.

With the conclusion of the 31st SEA Games MLBB event, the Philippines team secured a Gold medal followed by Indonesia securing the Silver medal and Singapore taking home the Bronze medal.