After 7 years of professional gaming, Flandre – a player once greatly loved by Vietnamese fans for his beautiful friendship with SofM, has finally tasted the flavor of glory, as he officially claimed his first title in his career – the LPL Summer 2021 Championship, after EDward Gaming defeated FunPlus Phoenix 3-1 in the Grand Finals.
Not only did he elevate the championship trophy of League of Legends in China, but Flandre also made his debut at the most prestigious tournament – Worlds 2021. Right after Flandre’s victory, SofM’s fanpage posted a congratulatory message for his close friend, Duy Cau Giay.
Having been part of the Snake Esports roster since 2016, Flandre is considered the first friend SofM made during his early years of competing away from home. Playing in two highly coordinated positions (top lane – jungle) and sharing the same age, Flandre and SofM quickly formed a close relationship despite the language barrier.
The EDG top laner also helped SofM a lot in adapting to life in China, as well as the LPL environment. Flandre and kRYST4L can be seen as SofM’s closest brothers during his time competing here. Therefore, when this player became a champion, many fans also sent their congratulations.
However, alongside the congratulatory messages for Flandre, many former Snake fans expressed their regrets, as both SofM and Flandre have had their glorious moments, but unfortunately, they couldn’t achieve those together.
In fact, many gamers have expressed their desire to see Flandre and SofM once again side by side to continue their quest for glory. However, everyone understands that this is a scenario that is quite unlikely to happen in the near future.
In another move, many Chinese fans have speculated about why SofM (whose fanpage is often managed by his girlfriend Lily) has not publicly congratulated his close friend. A very understandable reason is that if EDG has Flandre and Scout as Duy Cau Giay’s “brothers,” then on the other side, FPX also has Tian – who has a similarly close relationship. Perhaps SofM is hesitant that congratulating one might deepen the sorrow of the other, so he chooses not to speak out, but only to privately congratulate Flandre and Scout is enough.
