Are flags really useless at tournament websites ?

[EmetE]

Am I missing something here ?
I realize flags look cool but seems like a vanity item to me.
The big problem with flags in websites is that it is hard to search with them say if you are looking for all players from a certain country
I know hovering over the flag shows the country in some cases (but not always) if the the three letter country annreviation can be added below or above the flag, that would allow a seacrh by country

[C0sm0re]

Flags really serve no purpose IMO

[Loop 1990]

It makes sense on certain places on a website such as when showing a list of countries of players at the tournament
But if you list a flag instead of a three letter abbreviation against the name of a player in individual matches , people have to around looking for details about the flag.
I know in some cases you can hover over a flag & it pops up the three letter abbreviation. but not always