Indonesia Will Not Send Athletes in 4 Esports Games to SEA Games in May

TheIndonesia.id - The Indonesian Esports Executive Board (PBESI) has announced that it will not send its athletes to compete in four esports games in SEA Games Vietnam in May after the government decided to cut down the number of contingents that will represent Indonesia in the multi-sport event.

As reported by Antara on Tuesday, PBESI stated that athletes for Arena of Valor, League of Legends PC, League of Legends Wild Rift Men, and League of Legends Wild Rift Women events will not take part in this year’s edition of SEA Games.

Previously, the review team from the Ministry of Youth and Sports decided to reduce the number of Indonesian contingents that will be sent to compete in Hanoi. The number of athletes in all sport branches was reduced by up to 43.4 percent – from 841 athletes in 52 sports to 476 athletes in 31 sports.

Head of the review team Moch. Asmawi said the downsizing was based on a number of assessments, including poor past achievements, low probability of winning medal, and organizational issues.

“Therefore, the Ministry chose to reduce the budget to focus on Asian Games 2022,” Asmawi said. This year’s Asian Games are set to take place in Hangzhou, China, on September 10-25.

Prior to the announcement, PBESI had held national selection and stage one training that birthed 66 esports athletes in 10 events that were set to take part in stage two national training.

However, PBESI athletes will still take part in SEA Games this year in PUBG Mobile tim, PUBG Mobile solo, Mobile Legends: Bang-Bang, FIFA Online 4, Crossfire, and Free Fire events.