Krafton has excluded Vietnamese (VIE) region participants HIMASS and TANVUU from the remaining matches of PUBG Asia Stars 2026. This comes after the two players admitted to receiving external game information through viewer chat during matches. The specifics of what transpired were disclosed not by tournament organizer Krafton, but directly by the penalized players themselves.
The controversy erupted following the Day 1 matches played on September 17. In its initial announcement, Krafton stated, "We sincerely apologize for causing concern and inconvenience regarding competitive integrity during tournament operations," and outlined measures to be implemented starting Day 2: a 2-player roster adjustment, broadcast delays for key matches, re-issuing operational guidelines to participants, and strengthening match monitoring.
The initial announcement contained no details about what happened or in which match. It omitted the region in question, the participants involved, and the specific actions taken. The description of the measure was limited to a single line: "Roster adjustment for certain regions (2 players)." It did not clarify whether a rule violation had been confirmed, or whether the adjustment was a penalty or a simple substitution. All that could be discerned from reading the notice was that two players were being removed.
The apology statement released by the two participants regarding the same matter offered a different level of detail. They wrote that during matches, they communicated with viewers via live chat open on a secondary monitor, and in the process of reading the chat, received external game information. The apology noted that both players had already acknowledged this, and even specified that the affected opponent was Team Korea, specifically 'KOR_SOOPI'.
Neither the method of the act nor the identity of the affected opponent appeared in the organizer's notice; both were revealed solely in the penalized players' apology. While the tournament organizers withheld the specifics of the integrity issue, the offending party filled the void.
Krafton only specified the region and participants in a second announcement following continued criticism from users. The second notice stated, "To ensure fair match operations, we have decided to exclude VIE region participants HIMASS and TANVUU from the remaining matches of PUBG Asia Stars."
Even then, the nature of the issue was described merely as "matters raised after Day 1 matches concerning competitive integrity and the use of external information." Neither announcement explained whether open viewer chat during streams was the core issue or how the information was conveyed. Whether a rule violation had been formally established was also left open.
Krafton added, "This does not mean the matter is concluded," and that it "plans to conduct further investigations based on overall match data and verifiable records." While the participants themselves admitted to the actions, the organizers have deferred a final judgment.
While the identification was delayed, suspicion spread across the entire tournament. Because the first announcement only cited "certain regions," participants from the other five unmentioned regions were cast under the same shadow without explanation. Promptly identifying offending parties not only isolates the penalization target, but also clears remaining participants from controversy.
In their apology, the two participants wrote, "At the time of the match, we understood that this was not prohibited by tournament rules, and there were no specific guidelines or rules addressing this situation before the competition." They explained that while they had no intention of gaining an unfair advantage, their actions may have inadvertently affected other teams.
The tournament organizers acknowledged the same point. In its second announcement, Krafton stated, "Failing to sufficiently detail operational standards to ensure fair competition is the responsibility of the organizers," adding, "We view the resulting concerns over fairness with extreme gravity." The first notice also contained the sentence, "This is an area that the operational team should have thoroughly checked and prepared for in advance." In effect, conduct that lacked explicit prohibition beforehand became grounds for disciplinary action mid-tournament.
The introduction of broadcast delays points to the same underlying issue. Krafton listed broadcast delays as a new measure to be applied from Day 2. This implies that Day 1 matches were broadcast without delay mechanisms. PUBG Asia Stars is an event where regional representative streamers broadcast their own gameplay, and participants were permitted to leave their personal viewer chats open. The channel that the two participants admitted to using was essentially left wide open on Day 1.
The tournament features teams from six Asian regions, each composed of eight players including pros, partners, and streamers, competing across nine event modes over three days to determine final standings via cumulative points. Because Day 1 scores count toward the final standings, simply excluding players from remaining matches does not undo completed match results. Krafton made no mention of handling Day 1 rankings in either of its two announcements.
