Bigkoro – Explosive but Needs More Stability
Percent Esports can be said to be a team with a very basic playstyle featuring a tanky Top Lane, a Jungle with a focus on creating plays, and two core players in Mid Lane and ADC. The addition of a quality name like Bigkoro has made Percent’s basic playstyle even stronger, evidenced by their ability to defeat both GAM Esports and Team Flash 2-0, the runners-up and champions of the spring split.
However, two unfortunate losses to Saigon Buffalo and Team Secret show that both the team and Bigkoro have not truly found stability yet. “Rô chó điên” might dominate GAM with Draven last week, but the following week he could just as easily “feed” continuously. Perhaps Percent and Bigkoro need a bit more time to connect, understand each other, and find their winning formula.
Palette – Finally “Tuning in” with Teammates
The ADC-Support duo in League of Legends has a different characteristic from solo lanes, requiring coordination between two players. Therefore, with a new Support like Palette, he needs time to adjust to Slayder’s playstyle, not just handling regular skills but also understanding the nuances of each small action. We can see that Palette has tried to change many different playstyles from protection to engaging in fights to find the optimal formula.
Of course, this renewal comes with a price as Team Flash lost their first two matches, but as Palette and Slayder gradually find common ground, victories come to Team Flash very naturally. Although it might be a bit late, as Team Flash’s bot lane begins to thrive, their fans can start dreaming of higher achievements like defending the VCS championship.
Naul – The Disappearance of the “King of Solo”
For over a year, Naul has consistently been among the top Mid Lane players in VCS, his surprising stability kept Phong Vũ Buffalo always among the strongest teams in the tournament. However, after moving to Team Flash, we no longer see an elite Mid Lane player in Naul, and he has barely played any matches, only counting them on one hand.
As of now, Naul has only played a single match for Team Flash, where he played a supportive champion, Karma, and even then, the team lost that match. With Team Flash’s composition gradually stabilizing, it’s hard for Naul to get regular playtime. Did this team acquire the “King of Solo” just to motivate Kati?
Zeros – The “Demon King” Lost Among the White Tigers
EVOS Esports has always been a team inclined towards systematic play, late-game strategies, and waiting for their key players’ power spikes. However, with Zeros’ arrival, this playstyle has been completely disrupted, and we can see many efforts from the EVOS members to adapt and play according to the “Demon King”. There were even matches where they had to play with a 2 Fighter setup similar to GAM’s 2019 model to make Zeros feel most comfortable with the playstyle.
However, in contrast, Zeros has not shown any changes. Remember that whether you are the rising star Canna from T1, the “strange saint” Wunder from G2 Esports, or the dominating LPL player 369 from Top Esports, they all need to know how to play tanky initiators. Meanwhile, Zeros’ champion pool still revolves around damage-dealing Fighters, making EVOS’ strategies and bans easily predictable, inadvertently making this team much more passive in their gameplay.
The proof is that EVOS lost to the top 4 teams of VCS and has only managed to win one OPG that isn’t particularly “tricky” in their bans. If EVOS Esports wants to compete for a top 4 spot or a playoff berth, expanding Zeros’ champion pool and adapting to his playstyle is essential.