Entering the bronze medal match against the extremely strong Chinese League of Legends (LoL) team, the Vietnamese players were not given much credit, if not to say that most believed VCS would lose. This is understandable as Vietnam had just lost to a team jokingly referred to as the “seed 2 of LPL” so when facing the “seed 1”, the chances of winning seem even lower.
However, SofM and his teammates truly showed the strong opponent as well as the LoL community the determination of Vietnamese LoL. The ban-pick strategies followed the meta, but the players’ more scientific and calm gameplay surprised many. Vietnam led after the first game, and if they had been calmer in the decisive third game, it could have been China that faced defeat. But in the end, superior skills helped the Chinese team avoid the embarrassment of going home empty-handed.
Nevertheless, it was not the medal-winning team but Vietnam that was praised by the international LoL audience. On forums frequented by many viewers of Chinese LoL such as Huya, Weiboor Twitter, numerous compliments for the Vietnamese players surfaced. In fact, many viewers, even after the match ended, still hoped that Vietnam would emerge as the victors.
– It seems this match was the final we were all waiting for
– Please never call those from EDG and coach KenZhu again.
– Leave was right about someone, huh.
– As an LPL fan, I’m happy that the players won the bronze medal. But also as an LPL fan, I think the players should feel lucky because they didn’t have to “swim back” while playing at home.
As for the VCS audience, the defeat of Vietnam’s LoL team was nothing to be ashamed of, if not to say that there were many comments expressing joy. The players played fairly against a team considered the top contender for the gold medal. In fact, according to some assessments, matches like that are great for preparing the players’ mentality for the 2023 World Championship.
In summary, Vietnam suffered a regrettable defeat, but the players gave their all. The ASIAD journey has ended but it will be an ideal preparation for the more significant tournaments ahead, starting with the World Championship 2023 coming up in less than half a month.