Backlash erupts after Vietnamese players eliminated from PUBG Asia Stars 2026 over 'stream sniping' accusation

On the day the grand finals were set to take place, KRAFTON announced the cancellation of the final competition day at PUBG Asia Stars 2026. The reason: two Vietnamese players — Lã Phương Tiến Đạt (Himass) and Trần Tấn Vũ (TanVuu) — were accused of "stream sniping" following a complaint filed by Korean player Soopi. Tensions erupted from the tournament's own operational mechanics. Within 48 hours of Soopi's complaint, organizers eliminated Himass and TanVuu while stripping their "partner title" — one of the harshest and swiftest disciplinary actions in the history of regional PUBG tournaments. However, the internal investigation told a completely different story. According to the official investigation findings, Himass and TanVuu only received information from the tournament's online chat box — no evidence indicated they actively monitored the opponent's screen for gain. The critical point: the original rulebook issued by the tournament contained no provision prohibiting the receipt of information from the chat room. The Vietnamese gaming community erupted in backlash. Thousands of comments on social media platforms demanded KRAFTON be transparent about the disciplinary process. Numerous professional players from the same industry spoke out, pointing out that in battle royale competition, the presence or absence of signal transmission from the audience — whether live or online — is an issue of tournament information integrity, not simply an individual athlete's fault. Organizers subsequently issued a formal apology. KRAFTON did not recognize the final standings and distributed the entire $70,000 prize pool equally among participating regions. While this move was assessed as goodwill, it actually reflects a stark reality: no one could determine a legitimate winner of this tournament. The greatest lesson lies in internal rulemaking. A regional tournament with a prestigious "partner title" should have had clear regulations defining information boundaries — from chat rooms and audience signals to any external data source. Disciplining before completing full verification is a serious procedural failure, and the esports community deserves a clearer answer from KRAFTON.