Vietnamese gamers quit tournament in China, citing glitches

By VnExpress   December 4, 2016 | 07:55 am PT
Players say Chinese gaming devices caused lag and spikes during matches.

Two Vietnamese teams bowed out of a global gaming tournament in China, due to unresolved technical glitches that rendered the matches “unplayable.”

The ProGK and VNAllStars teams announced their withdrawal from the competition last week.

Both teams flew to Shenzhen, China, on November 28 to participate in Hero Pro League 2016, a tournament open to competitive First-Person Shooters all over the world. This year's tournament pitted international teams against one another on the mobile-phone based Crisis Action.

According to the teams’ managers, ProGK and VNAllStars called it quits mid-tournament due to numerous glitches in the gameplay platform.

ProGK was scheduled to face Thien Vuong, the reigning Chinese champion team, on November 30, but the match was postponed until the following day due to technical issues. On December 1, the Vietnamese team issued its release, that complained of spiking, lagging and a lack of control over their characters during the match.

Deeming such conditions “unplayable,” the team decided to withdraw along with VNAllStars.

“My team and I believe that the connection factor during the match with Thien Vuong didn’t ensure fair play so we decided to withdraw. We believe the Vietnamese gaming community will support ProGK’s decision,” said Thanh Tung, ProGK's captain.

Other competitors shared in their grievances.

“Poor connectivity really affected the outcome of the match. I think this is unfair and unprofessional on the organizers’ part,” said a representative of Indonesian team ProClaz, which called for a pause in their own match at least twice due to connectivity problems.

Gamers and experts attributed the problem to the hardware employed.

Each gamer was required to use a Chinese-made smartphone that ran on the Android operating system.

This wasn't the first time controversy upended an online gaming tournament in China.

Last year, the World Cyber Arena and Major All Star competitions drew heavy criticism due to scheduling delays and a lack of heat and electricity at the venue.

Players also griped about a lack of WiFi or sound-proof booth, at the tournaments, with $2 million grand prizes.

The Hero Pro League 2016 (HPL) competition attracted players from China, the US, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

ProGK and VNAllStars won the league's Vietnam competition before advancing to compete in Shenzen.

 
 
go to top