It’s safe to say that since the 2020 season, even with the impact of the pandemic, GAM Esports (GAM) has never found itself in a situation quite like this. Retaining the same lineup that conquered VCS Spring 2022 with an unbeaten record and continuing to secure a gold medal at SEA Games 31 in League of Legends (LoL), GAM is no longer the “unstoppable force” of Vietnamese LoL.
Before entering the match against CERBERUS Esports (CES), GAM had a record of 2 wins and 2 losses, tying with the team known as “The Cerberus.” However, what’s concerning for GAM is that both of their losses were against direct competitors for the title in VCS Summer 2022 and a spot in the 2022 World Championship (Worlds 2022). Meanwhile, GAM only managed to defeat two weaker opponents, AS Esports (ASE) and Genius Esports (GE). Even in their victory against GE, Levi and his teammates struggled significantly.
Entering the match against CES, it seemed that the GAM players had returned after decisively defeating their opponents in game 1. However, in games 2 and 3, Levi and his teammates repeated the same mistakes from their previous losses. They gradually lost control of the match to CES and failed to find any solutions.
While the CES players executed their strategy well, GAM appeared fragmented. The outcome of these two games was a complete defeat for GAM, bringing their loss count in VCS Summer 2022 to three.
One of the players pointed out by the VCS community in general and GAM fans in particular for the team’s failures is captain Levi. Clearly, this summer, he has not performed at a high level. Additionally, other names in the team such as Kiaya, Sty1e… have also somewhat lost their edge. Some opinions even suggest that GAM should let Levi take a break for a while and bring TomRio in as a replacement.
– “GAM should change their coach. Why keep using strategies that have already lost once?”
– “The only bright spot in the match was that Kati was more stable. The rest of the team is still the same, not much better than when facing Saigon Buffalo. Perhaps Levi is past his prime, completely read by the opponents.”
– “Kati did okay today, but Khanh (Levi) and Sty1e made some mistakes.”
– “I just feel like Levi is too old now, so it’s better to put TomRio in. Maybe the captain has already had enough of the titles.”
But then again, the VCS Summer 2022 has witnessed teams displaying fairly equal strength, and their determination is very clear. It’s undeniable that GAM has weakened. However, changes cannot happen overnight. If the reigning VCS champions do not come up with better solutions, the likelihood of GAM having to watch the 2022 Worlds from home is very high.