GAM is almost certain to face difficulties in the 2024 Worlds Swiss stage
With their qualification for the 2024 Worlds Swiss stage, GAM Esports has successfully achieved their first goal in this year’s tournament. However, as a team accustomed to being in the group stage, GAM will certainly need to advance beyond this position to meet the expectations of the VCS fans. It’s worth remembering that in the 2023 Worlds, when GAM was seen as having the roster that VCS fans had longed for, they only managed to impress with a single victory against Team Liquid in the Swiss round.
In the context of Vikings Esports being eliminated, and VCS having just undergone a cleansing process, with GAM performing impressively in the Play-In stage, fans are hoping GAM will achieve even greater things. However, that prospect seems quite distant when looking at the opponents GAM might encounter in the upcoming Swiss stage.
Accordingly, having entered the Swiss stage from the Play-In and being placed in Pool 4, GAM will have to face one of the champions from the four Major regions, including Hanwha Life Esports, Bilibili Gaming, G2 Esports, and FlyQuest. With the Swiss round format being BO1, there is still a chance for GAM to pull off an upset. But that’s only if GAM’s opponents are G2 or FLY – teams from regions that often have a tendency to “choke” at crucial moments. Additionally, another condition is that key players from these teams like Caps, Hans sama (G2), or Inspired (FLY) make mistakes.
Conversely, if they face HLE or BLG at this point, there’s almost no chance for GAM to cause an upset. HLE has even shown that they play with more discipline than Gen.G in the LCK Summer 2024 finals. As for BLG, they can simply overpower their opponents with sheer strength or individual skill.
GAM’s subsequent matches at Worlds 2024 may not be easy either
Assuming GAM loses their opening match in the Swiss round, they will face one of the remaining teams that also lost, sharing a 0-1 record. However, the issue is that in the current Swiss round, even a 4th seed from the LCK/LPL regions can be the reigning Worlds champion (T1) or the current runner-up (WBG). Even Dplus KIA or Fnatic have dominated GAM last year. The chance for GAM to pull off an upset may only come if fate brings them opponents like TES, MAD, TL, or the other two teams still waiting to be determined in the Play-In stage.
These may not be weak names, but compared to teams like HLE or BLG, they are still at a level GAM can contend with. Not to mention, both TES and TL have previously lost to GAM in BO1 matches in past Worlds. They might play more cautiously if they face the representatives from Vietnam’s League of Legends.
But then fate will bring GAM opponents they must face. At that point, GAM will be able to truly prove whether their past failures were due to having players who didn’t meet the requirements or if the VCS still cannot dream beyond the group stage of Worlds.