Corona Crazy, Vietnam SEA Games 2021 Officially Postponed!

The long-awaited 2021 Southeast Asian Games or SEA Games have finally officially been postponed!

This biennial sporting event which was planned to be held from 21 November to 2 December 2021 must be postponed until 2022.

Previously, the SEA Games were always held in odd years, which were originally held in 1959.

If the SEA Games are later officially postponed to 2022, does that mean that after that this event will continue to be held in even years, or do the organizers have other plans?

On Thursday, 8 July 2021 yesterday, the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) issued a statement that it had been decided that the SEA Games would not be held this year.

Responding to this, Raja Sapta Oktohari as General Chair – Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) also informed that the 2021 SEA Games had been officially postponed, at a virtual press conference on Monday, 12 July 2021.

KOI is also aware of the postponement of the SEA Games due to the ongoing pandemic, and Vietnam's National Olympic Committee (NOC) is also reportedly looking for a new schedule for this event next year.

Corona Cases in Vietnam Still High

Vietnam's Ministry of Health informed that at the beginning of this June, the number of Corona cases had reached more than 8,500 cases, coupled with a death rate of nearly 50 cases.

The latest cases have also been reported to have spread to several regions of Vietnam which will later be used as the location for the SEA Games.

Another source also stated that the postponement of the sporting event was because Vietnam had not been able to handle the Corona virus case as well as Indonesia.

Lately there have also been rumors circulating that the 2021 SEA Games will be postponed until March/June 2022.

However, this is stuck because it is too close to the next 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia in May 2023 which was previously scheduled.

So, the question of whether the SEA Games will turn into an even year sports party or not is still unanswered.

The current pandemic is indeed a tough challenge for the organizers of the 2021 SEA Games.

Second Event of Esports in SEA Games Canceled Show Off

Since esports entered the 2019 SEA Games, so far it seems that more and more young people are looking forward to this sporting event.

In 2019, there were 6 esports games that were contested, namely Tekken 7, Starcraft II, Hearthstone, Dota 2, Mobile Legends, and Arena of Valor (AoV).

Different from last 2019, this time several games that previously competed had to step aside temporarily, such as Dota 2, Starcraft II, Tekken 7, and Hearthstone.

8 Games of the 2021 SEA Games Esports Branch:

• Mobile Legends
• Arena of Valor (AoV)
• Wild Rift (male and female)
• Free Fire
• PUBG Mobile (solo and team)
• League of Legends
• FifaOnline 4
• Raid (Crossfire)

Even though FF and PUBGM are really exciting, the favorite games of the Indonesian people have finally officially become the games that are contested at the 2021 SEA Games.

But yes, what can we do, we all have to patiently wait until 2022.

With the current achievements of Indonesian esports athletes, it seems that Indonesia has a very big opportunity to get many gold medals in esports.

Latest Rumor: The PUBGM National Team Has Not Made Selections for the 31st SEA Games

Ibnu Riza, the Board of Trustees of the Indonesian Esports Executive Board (PBESI) recently informed that the PUBG Mobile National Team had not made a selection at all.

Ibnu also said that for PUBG Mobile, currently only the national team has just been formed, but for the team itself, selection will still be carried out.

We got this information when the PBESI Advisory Board was live on Planet Esports Revival TV with the others, at the end of June 2021.

Other leaks related to PUBGM were also made by Ibnu Riza, such as the qualification for PUBGM would later be held as a full team, not mixed.

He believes that this is done to maintain the existing chemistry, because chemistry is important, especially when playing battle royale games such as PUBGM which require teamwork.

Also read: Play In/Qualification Round is Back at MDL Season 4!

However, this is still just a rumor, Vicigers! The postponement of the 2021 SEA Games to 2022 seems to give fresh air to sports that have not prepared everything carefully.

Hopefully Indonesia can bring lots of gold medals at the 31st SEA Games later!