Although it was just a friendly match, the fact that Esports has made its debut as a medal sport at the ASIAD, combined with this being the first appearance of Faker and his teammates since forming their team, the match between Vietnam and South Korea has drawn significant attention. Even Western professionals and audiences are closely following this match. Many opinions have been shared regarding the performance of both teams.
Notably, the famous streamer and commentator LS provided very candid remarks about the draft picks of both teams right in game 1. Specifically, LS stated: “With the picks in game 1, Vietnam had better draft choices than South Korea.” At the same time, the streamer also openly criticized the South Korean players. LS shared that he knows the Vietnamese players would have a hard time competing against South Korea, but the drafting mindset of the Korean players is overly subjective and leans towards excessive entertainment.
Being a figure closely associated with Eastern LoL, particularly the LCK where LS has previously worked for Gen.G and T1, his opinions are very valuable. Indeed, the draft and performance of the South Korean players seemed somewhat careless. Throughout game 1, Chovy’s Azir had moments of “Divine Judgment” that left viewers baffled. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese players showed dominance in the top lane, with the trio of Kiaya – Levi – Kati using champions that excelled in team fights and coordinating smoothly.
However, there are some dissenting opinions emphasizing the friendly nature of the match. Perhaps because they realized they were too “overqualified”, the Korean players played with a completely relaxed mindset. Moreover, the players also needed to “hide their strategies” to prevent strong opponents like China from analyzing and finding counterplays. Therefore, both teams displayed a more entertaining style of play and were less careful compared to an official match.
Regardless of the reasons, it can be said that the series of friendly matches for the Korean LoL team concluded perfectly. As for Vietnam, the players have certainly gained a full understanding of the potential strength of their opponents. Even though it was a friendly, this surely serves as an important foundation for the players to prepare, both in skills and mentality, for the upcoming official matches at ASIAD.