In 2023, the MSI tournament will see many changes to its format. As known, the number of participating teams will be larger than usual, making the Play-In stage an extremely fierce battleground. Teams from smaller regions will undoubtedly be seen as weaker when facing the 4 runners-up from the LPL, LEC, and LCS. Among the teams from smaller regions, of course, there is GAM Esports – the representative of VCS.
GAM’s journey at MSI 2023 is expected to be much more challenging. Although GAM once achieved victory over Top Esports at World Championship 2022, this year will be different. Teams will find ways to counter GAM’s explosive playstyle, especially by containing the strength of Levi. Moreover, GAM is also facing some issues in the Bot Lane as Sty1e will likely be frequently targeted. Even VCS fans are not overly optimistic about GAM at the upcoming MSI.
Recently, on his stream channel, commentator Hoàng Luân shared his insights on GAM’s upcoming journey. Specifically, the commentator has high hopes for GAM to create an upset against Golden Guardians – the LCS representative. Commentator Hoàng Luân also believes that GAM will find it hard to defeat BLG and will have to drop down to the lower bracket to face Movistar R7 (in the most likely scenario where this team loses to BLG). After that, GAM could potentially defeat GG again to finish second in Group B.
If this scenario occurs, GAM’s chances of advancing are very high as, apart from G2 Esports, the other names in Group B are all opponents GAM can definitely win against. In fact, on a good day, GAM could surprise BLG just as the black-and-yellow team did when they defeated TES.
However, for VCS fans, many jokingly commented that as long as commentator Hoàng Luân “activates his aura,” GAM could achieve a miracle. Of course, these are just playful remarks based on the commentator’s notorious “wrong predictions.” Many opinions suggest that the path outlined by commentator Hoàng Luân is the most feasible for GAM and has a basis, rather than just hoping for a miracle in matches against BLG.
Only a few days left until MSI 2023 officially kicks off. GAM is expected to have a challenging journey, but the VCS champions will surely do their utmost to assert the capabilities of Vietnamese League of Legends on the world stage.