Entire team pulled from competition as repercussions spread
A female Thai contestant has been expelled from the Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok for using unauthorised third-party software during the AoV (Arena of Valor) esports event.
The Thailand Esports Federation (TESF) announced the expulsion of Naphat Warasin on Tuesday, citing a breach of the Esports Technical Handbook during gameplay on Monday.
Competing as part of the AOV Thai women's team at the 33rd SEA Games Thailand 2025, Naphat, known in the gaming community as “Tokyogurl,” was found to have violated rule 9.4.3 regarding unauthorised software.
She also displayed disrespect during the livestream by gesturing with her middle finger at the camera.
Her agent, TALON TH, has severed ties with her immediately. Event organiser Garena RoV Thailand supported the decision and will ban Naphat from all future competitions it hosts.
The repercussions went further.
Santi Lohthong, president of the TESF and the Asian Esports Federation, announced that the entire Thai women's AOV team would withdraw from the Games in accountability. He expressed apologies on behalf of the team, emphasising the need to uphold the integrity of esports.
The association reinforced the importance of "fair play" and will investigate the incident to enhance technical and ethical standards, preventing future occurrences.
AOV is a multiplayer online battle arena (Moba) game that is particularly popular in Thailand, where it is commonly referred to as ROV (Realm of Valor). The game mainly features 5 versus 5 team battles, with players selecting heroes to engage in strategic gameplay on a variety of maps.