"Ah, my eyes are down."
Rarely have we seen a gold medal being shared. At the height of top-tier professional competition, why would anyone ever want to share a gold medal? During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Mutaz Essa Barshim from Qatar and Gianmarco Tamberi from Italy competed against one another in the high jump with the winning height to beat at 2.37m.
Given the history between both high jumpers and the decade-long friendship that they share with one another, instead of having a jump-off, both were more than happy to share the gold medal. In a truly remarkable show of sportsmanship and camaraderie, it was everything the Olympics embodied. However, can the same be said for the SEA Games?
Riot Games' popular FPS title, VALORANT made its debut at the 32nd SEA Games with a total of six countries participating. It was an intense, three-day tournament that saw the likes of the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and host country Cambodia compete to see who will don the gold medal at the end. And after a gruelling two-day group stage, it was Singapore versus Indonesia in the grand finals.
The first map on Ascent went very much in Singapore's favour with Sova and Killjoy being the two main standouts in game one. Singapore was dominant from the first half, being able to gain plenty of momentum and keep it for most of the match. However, it was on Split in game two did the drama start to unravel.
Having taken a quick 8-4 lead in the first half before winning two more rounds, Team Indonesia noticed that Singapore was utilising a well-known bug/exploit within the game. This had to do with Cypher and his Spycam ability, which allows him to see what the camera sees while also revealing any player that was marked with its dart.
The game was paused indefinitely from then on with many in the dark on what was happening behind the scenes. Rumours began transpiring with some claiming it to be a peripheral issue while others stated that one player was caught watching the live stream during the match. However, as it turned out, it was due to the Cypher camera bug/exploit. As the game was paused for over three hours yesterday and with no end in sight, it was decided in the early hours of the morning that the match would be replayed.
However, this is where things went from bad to worse. According to our sources at the Olympia Mall venue where the grand finals were played, players from both teams were informed at 8.00 am of the decision to replay the second match. This left a bitter taste in the mouth of the Indonesian contingent, many of whom felt that it was an injustice done unto them in regards to the match being replayed.
This led many of the Indonesian team to stage a protest at the venue itself, which was shared by Team Indonesia's brand ambassador, Juanita “Valezka” Tanjung on her social media channels. Soon after, Team Indonesia would go on to state that they will be forfeiting their place in the tournament, stating that they will still "uphold the nation’s dignity and considering the unfavourable conditions of the situation”.
But after some time, the SEA Games committee reconvened and decided to award both teams the shared gold medal. While the reason behind the decision-making will never be known, some will speculate and see it as a way to appease both countries and their contingents. It was also to probably ensure that the situation doesn't escalate any further, especially given all the online vitriol both countries have faced in the past 24 hours.
Of course, you can't compare the Olympics to the SEA Games when it comes to sportsmanship, camaraderie, and wanting the best for your fellow man. That is everything the Olympics wants to embody and is something that the SEA Games should strive for at the very least. With VALORANT looking to make a return at the 33rd SEA Games, one can only hope that the committee in-charge will come up with a more transparent and fleshed out rulebook on what is actually allowed and isn't.
