Vietnam-Korea PUBG drama escalates: Soopi threatens to quit, demands publisher apologize, Vietnamese streamers delete game in protest

The controversy surrounding a friendly PUBG tournament between Vietnam and Korea has escalated into the most serious esports industry crisis of 2026. At the center of the dispute is a stream-sniping accusation from streamer Soopi — an official Krafton partner — against two Vietnamese players, Himass and TanVuu. Soopi alleged that the two players watched her livestream during the match to gain positional advantage. However, Himass and TanVuu claim they had obtained prior permission to watch the opponent's stream, and the tournament was explicitly described as "friendly and fun" — a framework that permitted such behavior. The organizer subsequently removed Himass and TanVuu from the tournament despite the permissive framework. This is the critical issue: the decision was driven by community backlash rather than codified rules. In other words, this represents a governance failure where public sentiment replaced pre-announced regulations. Soopi continued posting drama-related videos while facing intense negative comments, abusive messages, and even deepfake content on Instagram. She stated that pressure from viewers severely impacted her mental health, particularly during her post-surgery recovery period. The Vietnamese community responded forcefully: numerous streamers and players posted calls to delete the game, while Soopi demanded Krafton apologize and threatened to quit PUBG entirely. Several brands collaborating with Soopi also withdrew their sponsorships. A notable contradiction: Soopi acknowledged she "also had incorrect points" while simultaneously demanding the publisher apologize to her. This contradictory posture weakens her negotiating position and obstructs mediation efforts. Structurally, the most serious issue lies in the evident conflict of interest: a publisher-supported streamer (Soopi) competed against regular players, and the publisher-linked organizer removed those players after backlash. This represents the absence of clear rules regarding opponent stream-viewing in friendly tournaments — the root cause of the entire crisis. It must be noted that no independent data verifies the actual scale of the game-deletion wave in Vietnam. figures cited are based on social media posts, not actual uninstall data. Any analysis of commercial damage must use this caveat as a prerequisite. Krafton has not issued an official statement. The critical question is whether the publisher will publish clear rules on opponent stream-viewing for future events, or continue allowing decisions to be driven by community pressure.