Only 1 week of matches remains for the group stage of VCS Summer 2022 which will officially conclude. As of now, alongside Team Secret (TS) and GAM Esports (GAM) who have secured their spots, the 2 remaining slots for the playoffs are still up for grabs. Currently, 4 teams are competing for the 2 remaining tickets, including: SBTC Esports (SE), Saigon Buffalo (SGB), Team Whales (TW), and CERBERUS Esports (CES).
However, at this point, the chances of each team advancing are not the same. So, which teams have the opportunity to continue competing for the title as well as a spot in the 2022 World Championship (CKTG 2022) alongside GAM and TS?
SBTC Esports and Saigon Buffalo – 80%
These are the 2 teams with the highest chances of advancing and also the only 2 names among the 4 teams still competing for playoff spots that can challenge the strength of GAM and TS. The positions of SE and SGB on the current leaderboard (BXH) are quite similar. SE is only ranked above SGB due to the score difference. However, this ranking can completely change when the final week of matches begins.
With SE facing CES and TS in the final week, the possibility of losing both matches is very high. Meanwhile, SGB will only face TW and ASE (AS Esports), with TW being the only team that could challenge the strength of the VCS Spring 2022 runner-up. Therefore, SGB can take this opportunity to surpass SE and move up to 3rd place if they can secure at least 1 victory. But regardless of the ranking, the chances of both SE and SGB advancing will be extremely high.
Team Whales – 50%
Much more challenging than SE and SGB is the team closely trailing behind them – TW. This is because TW’s opponents in the final week are GAM and SGB – the champions and runners-up of VCS Spring 2022. However, if TW can secure a victory against SGB, they could gain good momentum before facing GAM in the next match day.
And if they can cause an upset, TW will confidently advance. It should be noted that in the first round of the group stage, both GAM and SGB faced significant difficulties in defeating TW.
CERBERUS Esports – 30%
Until now, GAM and SGB are the only teams in the upper tier that CES could potentially defeat. However, in the rematch, both of these teams have avenged their earlier losses to the VCS Winter 2021 champions. Furthermore, CES is not performing at its best and is struggling with roster changes.
With such an unstable team facing SE, the likelihood of CES failing in this race for advancement is very high. Theoretically, CES still has a chance. But in reality, it seems that everyone understands that CES can only progress based on optimism.