PESF breaks silence after i8 says was ‘ignored’ for Asian Showdown

The Pakistan eSports Federation (PESF) is once again in hot water as controversy brews over the exclusion of Team i8 eSports from the upcoming Esan Asian PUBG Mobile Showdown, which it says was done with national representation in mind and not affiliations.

As per the details, the uproar began when PESF selected 4Thrives – a new team that includes former i8 players – over i8 eSports – a squad widely regarded as one of the most consistent and accomplished PUBG Mobile teams in the country.

Team i8's owner Shehbaz Mengal (Trynda) didn't hold back and took to Instagram to voice his frustration. He said that PESF had “once again ignored” i8's achievements and provided “no reasonable explanation”. Trynda also claimed that in the past, PESF had demanded sponsorship in exchange for tournament slots and even threatened to hand over i8's spot to another team when refused.

“Now, there was an invited event for Pakistan, and based on achievements, our team deserves to get the invite. If the players are changed, it doesn't mean giving the slot to another team… PESF is very unprofessional. If it's us today, it will happen to other teams tomorrow, and we will stay quiet no more.”

Joining the protest, another top-tier team, 141 eSports, announced an official boycott of PESF. In a statement, the team accused the federation of “unethical behaviour” and “lack of transparency”.

"Last year, PESF approached our owner for sponsorship in exchange for tournament privileges, threatening to revoke our slot upon refusal. This year, despite consistent performance and no roster changes, we were unfairly denied entry to a national event,” it said.

Amid all the backlash, The Current reached out to PESF for an official response.

“Just to clarify… the slot was officially allocated to PESF. After thoughtful consideration and discussions, a decision was made to form a lineup that we believe could best represent Pakistan on an international level,” a spokesperson told this scribe.

“This team wasn't selected based on club affiliations but with the broader vision of national representation in mind,” he added.

The spokesperson also said that Team i8 must provide evidence that the slot was awarded to them and also substantiate the claims they have made on social media. “Team i8 should prove that this slot was indeed awarded to Asi8 and that PESF communicated to Esan that the team should be changed. If they can demonstrate this, we will allow them to participate in the event. However, they must prove the authenticity of the claims they have made on social media.”

“Secondly, PESF is a sole entity, and after extensive discussions, we concluded that since this is a third-party tournament, we should select the team based on recent performances. The players announced were deemed the best at that time. It's also important to note that this slot was allocated two weeks ago. Many things can be misrepresented on social media, and any manipulations will be addressed accordingly,” he added.

This isn’t the first time PESF has faced such allegations. In 2024, Team i8 won both the national and regional qualifiers for the World eSports Championship (WEC), but PESF replaced them with 52 eSports without initially offering any explanation.

Later, PESF claimed that i8 had a scheduling conflict with the PUBG Mobile Global Championship (PMGC), but critics said the federation should have waited for PMGC group draws or allowed i8 to send a backup lineup. Trynda also alleged that PESF had attempted to limit i8’s branding and demanded sponsorships just for logo usage, raising serious questions about the federation's conduct.

While PESF has made its stance clear, it continues to face public backlash for not establishing transparent qualification criteria.