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SINGAPORE: Singapore burst onto the cyber-gaming stage with victory in the pan-Asian Championship last year, but a spat last week at another competition in China threatens to derail their spectacular run.
The team may be booted out of the Championship Gaming Series (CGS) world finals in July in Los Angeles following a bust-up involving two members of the Republic's team on May 1, when Singapore Swords' gaming ace Wilson "Tetra" Chia, 26, lost his cool and hit team manager Aaron Aw.
TODAY has learnt that the Singapore Swords could also be dropped from future games organised by the CGS as a result of Mr Chia's indiscretion.
When contacted, Mr Aw, 28, declined to comment as he is waiting for an official statement from CGS.
One eyewitness said Mr Chia appeared agitated after losing a series of games to a Chinese player. After losing another match to the same player on May 1, he threw away his controller and stormed off the stage.
Half an hour later, Mr Chia walked towards Mr Aw in the player's lounge at the Wuhan Optical Valley Electronic Sports Stadium and reportedly punched him in front of CGS management, the Chinese press and other team managers.
In a post on his blog, Mr Chia claimed that Mr Aw had let emotion cloud his judgment and made decisions that were unfavourable to the team, hence the meltdown.
Still, CGS chief executive Andy Reif was not swayed by his excuse and Mr Chia was subsequently sacked and banned from the association's games for life.
He returned to Singapore the next day.
Though his actions in China threaten Singapore Swords' future on the world cyber-gaming circuit, Mr Chia continues to garner support on online forums.
"With everyone trying to legitimise CGS as a 'real' sport, then why don't they treat it like one?" wondered forum poster "Chompr". "In any other sport, worse things happen and the only consequence is a fine or short suspension."
CGS chief executive Reif did not respond to TODAY's email queries about Mr Chia's ban and the Singapore Swords' future participation by press time.
Mr Chris Soh, president of the Singapore Gamers' Association, however, noted that incidents like the post-match rumble should not be tolerated, but "if the team is killed off, it would certainly be detrimental to the players and I think the organisers have to take the whole show as a priority."
When contacted, Mr Chia said that he was eager to put the matter behind him and that his biggest concern was "my future and my career path".
He is, however, taken aback, by the news that the team is facing the axe: "I don't know how to take that news. If the incident happened because of me, I find that a bit strange. In sports, if someone makes a mistake they fine the player, they don't penalise the team.
"CGS aims to make gaming a recognised sport but there are bound to be bumps in the formative years, so I feel guidelines should be put in place rather than jeopardise the future of the sport in Singapore." - TODAY/ac
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