CrossFire Bracketing in 32nd Southeast Asian Games Sparks Outcry
The CrossFire event of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games has been rocked with controversy as it sparked an outcry for its bizarre bracket.
Via Liquipedia
The CrossFire event in the 32nd SEA Games started with a group stage that only had two groups. With only five countries participating, Group A featured the SIBOL CrossFire squad going against country host Cambodia and Laos while Group B only had Vietnam and Indonesia dueling for the top seed—making the group stage situation already skewed from the get-go.
Screenshot taken from CrossFire – Việt Nam’s live stream of the 32nd SEA Games
Despite SIBOL’s undefeated run in Group A, the Filipino representatives were paired with fellow top-seed Vietnam in the semifinals—which many fans found offbeat or even outright unfair.
Many also pointed out how SIBOL CrossFire’s group stage results were basically made useless as losing the match—which they did—meant they can only bag the bronze medal while a group stage loser can possibly take home either silver or gold.
“Di ko parin talaga tanggap. Silver or gold na sana naging [battle for] bronze pa (I still can’t accept it. It could’ve been a silver or gold but it became a battle for bronze instead),” one fan expressed their disappointment on how the tournament bracket came to be.
“Lugi sa SEA Games rules (loss to SEA Games rules),” another fan shared their sentiments.
Popular CrossFire content creator Nayskatol also shared his dismay on the 32nd SEA Games bracketing.
“Nice try Pacific Macta Infirma! Ganun talaga ang buhay! Pero sayang di ko gets yung format at rules. Parehas kayong number 1 [ng Vietnam] sa group tapos kayo agad naglaban (Nice try Pacific Macta Infirma! That’s how life is! However I still don’t get the format and rules. You’re both number 1 with Vietnam in groups but were immediately matched up),” Nayskatol posted in his Facebook page.
Via Nayskatol
In a later post, Nayskatol claims he has a friend on the organizing team for CrossFire in the 32nd SEA Games and posted a screenshot of an excerpt in the rulebook that revealed the placements in the bracket for the semifinals was done randomly by the organizers.
“One of my friends is the organizer dun sa CrossFire SEA Games. Gusto nya lang malaman ng mga players and fans ng Pacific Macta na walang naganap na dayaan. Lahat po ng rules ay nakalagay sa rulebook and mukhang hindi po ata eto nabasa ng Coach and Players ng Pacific Macta Infirma (One of my friends is the organizer in CrossFire SEA GAmes. They want the players and fans of Pacific Macta to know that there was no cheating incident. All the rules are stated in the rulebook and it seemed like the coach and the players of Pacific Macta Infirma missed it),” Nayskatol posted.
He then urged everyone to move on from the issue and to stop harassing the players of Vietnam and the organizers.
“Move on na po tayo wag tayo magslita ng hindi maganda sa mga players ng Vietnam and sa organizer. Wala po silang kasalanan (Let’s all move on and stop saying mean things towards the players of Vietnam and the organizer. They haven’t done anything wrong).”
Fortunately, SIBOL CrossFire still managed to finish their quest in the 32nd SEA Games with a bronze medal after defeating Laos 3-0 in the bronze medal match.
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