Recently, GAM Esports overcame Team Whales in the first “VCS derby” in the history of the World Championship (Worlds) to secure a spot in the Swiss stage. GAM’s victory was fully deserved if you follow the entire journey of the gold-and-black team “climbing the tower”. Not to mention, even in the BO5 match against TW, GAM clearly outperformed their opponent. Therefore, although it remains to be seen how GAM’s Swiss stage will unfold, they have proven their caliber and position in the VCS despite TW also putting in a solid effort in previous matches.
However, due to GAM’s past performances, particularly in Worlds 2022 and MSI 2023, which were not particularly good, the team has not garnered trust, both from VCS fans and the international League of Legends community. On some forums, not only fans but also experts expressed their lack of faith in GAM. Doinb is one such example when the former Mid Laner of LNG Esports commented on a stream after watching the GAM – TW match: “GAM seems to be heading into the group stage, but this time it’s hard to make a breakthrough. TES is no longer there. It’s a pity that the other team (TW) failed.”
However, Doinb’s comments were met with ridicule and sharp rebuttals from LPL fans. The reason is that in 2023, Doinb couldn’t even participate in Worlds, and immediately after he left, LNG underwent many changes. One of them was recruiting Scout to take over Doinb’s previous position, and they have returned to the Worlds 2023. Moreover, what hurt the most was that some fans recalled Doinb’s “achievement” with FunPlus Phoenix at Worlds 2021. At that time, although “Phoenix” was the runner-up of the LPL, they also had to “pack their bags and go home” before the group stage ended: “Wasn’t it the case that you also left the tournament after the group stage back then? So how are they (GAM) any different?”
In reality, Doinb is no longer a player. But undoubtedly, for him and his fans, as well as FPX, the “pain of 2021” is something that no one can forget. That was also the first time people witnessed a runner-up LPL team being eliminated before the group stage of Worlds ended. In fact, this record was even worse than TES in 2022 when TES could play the final match of the group stage before knowing their fate.