Every year, the global League of Legends community has its “rose-colored” stories with the success of players achieving prestigious titles. But behind that stage glow, the dark side of League of Legends harbors things that make the gaming community extremely uncomfortable.
Kriss
In the past, Kriss was involved in a drama related to Minh Hảo and Venus. At that time, coach Minh Hảo was accused by Venus of lacking expertise, “just coming to the gaming house to play games” and pressuring Kriss to practice frantically up to 20 matches a day when all three were still wearing the FFQ jersey.
Later, Venus revealed that coach Minh Hảo had suspicious interactions with Kriss’s girlfriend and tried to “sabotage” and push Kriss out of FFQ without consulting anyone. Although Venus’s accusations lacked concrete evidence, many fans still believe that these incidents were the reason Kriss faced a mental crisis, leading to unstable moods and often making confusing statements on social media.
Zeros – The Lord of Loose Lips
At his peak, the Demon King Zeros was far ahead of many other top lane players in the VCS tournament. However, Zeros is seen as a “prodigy who refuses to grow up” because while other players mature and improve both in and out of the game, Zeros has been continuously criticized for his lack of professionalism both in and out of the game.
Ultimately, the 2000-born star received a permanent ban from competitive play and bid farewell to the professional League of Legends scene.
Venus
Looking back, Venus might be a strong contender for the title of “drama king” with controversies like “cursing the teacher” or “cheating on HTP.” Earlier this year, the community thought Venus would compete in the colors of SBTC Esports without causing any uproar. However, he then vanished without a trace amidst rumors of being arrested for “possessing illegal substances,” and has yet to reappear.
Levi – Longing for International Tournament Opportunities
In every sport, to win titles, players must put in hard work and relentless training. But not every training effort yields results. This is especially true for GAM and Levi at the moment.
Because VCS has been unable to participate in international tournaments three times in a row, Levi has missed out on 2 (and possibly 3) consecutive opportunities to compete on the world stage. This is a significant loss for players who are at their peak, especially since Esports has a relatively short career span compared to traditional sports.
Optimus and the Struggles with Transparency
In the VCS community, Optimus can be considered one of the prominent names who once stood atop Vietnamese League of Legends due to both skill and leadership qualities. Even when facing backlash, Optimus still accused Zeros. This shows that this player has made significant efforts for the professionalism of the League of Legends scene. However, unexpectedly, Optimus lost his team OPG due to a player involved in betting and match-fixing, namely PHT.
Like Levi, Optimus also faced situations where all his efforts and hard work went “down the drain” due to unforeseen circumstances.