On September 3rd, the match between Team Secret and Team Whales in the framework of VCS Hoàng Hôn 2023 officially took place. This was also one of the last two matches of this year’s VCS tournament. Additionally, this match was significant in selecting the remaining representative (alongside GAM Esports) for the 2023 World Championship (CKTG) in Korea, as well as the last spot in the grand final of LCK Hoàng Hôn 2023.
The match ended with a victory for TW. In fact, the “Whales” are also one of the top two candidates for the championship as well as a spot in the CKTG 2023 as they performed impressively in the group stage. Although TW seemed to struggle a bit later, they managed to return just in time to save themselves. As for TS, they can only blame themselves for not performing better and being more alert than their opponents at crucial moments.
Some viewers noted that TS lost due to… “cosplaying T1“. Specifically, even though they knew Aatrox is a strong champion and likely shouldn’t be used in the deciding game, TS still didn’t ban it, allowing TW to have this champion. In all three games that TW won against TS, Sparda was wielding Aatrox, crushing the opponent’s lineup. This “stubborn” image reminded many of T1’s loss at CKTG 2022 when T1 also didn’t ban Kingen’s Aatrox, which then single-handedly stripped them of the CKTG 2022 championship.
Meanwhile, the ASIAD bot duo of the Vietnamese League of Legends team – Artemis and Bie had a day of competition that wasn’t truly at peak performance. The duo still performed very well in the matches that TW won. However, when the game turned unfavorable, both couldn’t do much to create a breakthrough. Some opinions expressed concern for the duo’s form, especially as the Vietnamese League of Legends team won’t have much preparation time after VCS ends before heading to China for the tournament.
Nevertheless, TW’s victory was deserved and a collective effort. Ahead, they will have a rematch against GAM in the grand final of VCS Hoàng Hôn 2023. This will be both a challenge and a final opportunity for all players to showcase their skills, as well as an important stepping stone before embarking on the ASIAD and CKTG 2023 journey.