Okay, so this is pretty rough. A female esports player from Thailand got disqualified from the SEA Games because she was caught cheating during a live match. The crazy part? Her team was already losing badly, like, a total blowout, so the cheating didn’t even help them win. It’s just a really unfortunate situation all around.
On December 15th, during the Arena of Valor competition at the 33rd SEA Games, the Thai women’s team lost to Vietnam with a score of 0–3 in the upper bracket final.
Immediately following the game, the Thailand Esports Federation (TESF) announced that Warasin Naraphat, who goes by the name Tokyogurl, was removed from the competition due to a rules violation.
TESF stated that Naraphat violated the rules of esports competition by using prohibited software or altered equipment during a match. The Esports Technical Manual clearly forbids this.
Viewers online started talking after noticing something unusual during the live broadcast. According to a report from Thai news outlet Khaosod, Naraphat appeared to give a middle-finger gesture on camera before being taken off the field during a game against Vietnam.
Following the incident, SEA Games officials quickly began an investigation. They determined that Naraphat, a member of the marksman team, had broken the rules in a significant way. As a result, he was disqualified from the tournament – the most severe penalty possible.
TESF hasn’t officially said which software was used, but investigations point to TeamViewer – a program that allows remote access to computers – and suggest someone other than Tokyogurl may have been controlling the game.
Thailand withdraws from Arena of Valor tournament after cheating controversy
The fallout extended far beyond one player.
Even though Thailand was winning against Laos 1–0 in the final qualifying match on December 16th and still had a chance to compete for the championship, the Thailand Esports Federation (TESF) unexpectedly decided to pull their entire female Arena of Valor team from the tournament.
TESF stated that fair play is their top priority. They confirmed they accept the decision made by the event organizers and will look into what happened internally to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Cryptic social media posts from teammates fueled speculation before the official ruling.
Jomkhon ‘Givemeakiss’ Phumsinin expressed his sadness after learning the truth, but vowed to keep trying his best. His teammate, Jenniex, asked fans to be understanding as the situation developed.
After the decision was made, Naraphat’s club, Talon, quickly announced they were ending her contract right away, with the change taking effect on December 16th.
Tokyogurl denies wrongdoing
Despite the ruling, Naraphat has publicly denied cheating.
In a social media post, she stated that she played the match fairly, without using any cheating software or equipment. She explained that she felt panicked and sick during the game and needed to go to the hospital afterward. Regarding a gesture she made on camera, she said it was just a joke intended to lighten the mood for a teammate who was feeling stressed.
Tokyogurl, a Thai esports player, has responded to accusations of cheating at the 2025 SEA Games Arena of Valor (RoV) competition. This comes after she was removed from the women’s team event. Naphat Warasin, also known as Tokyogurl, denies any wrongdoing.
— Thai Enquirer (@ThaiEnquirer) December 16, 2025
The SEA Games controversy adds to a growing list of recent cheating scandals across esports.
Earlier this year, Counter-Strike 2 professional Joel Holmlund was permanently banned from competition. The ban followed the discovery of cheating software on his computer, and was made worse by threats he directed at the Esports Integrity Commission.
Even less common esports competitions have faced issues. In April 2025, popular streamer DrLupo was disqualified from a $100,000 chess tournament called PogChamps after breaking the rules on Chess.com, and he later admitted to doing so.
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2025-12-16 22:20