On February 7th, one of the most notable events for the Vietnamese League of Legends community was the teams playing their first matches in the SEA Games 31 qualifiers. This tournament is used to select Vietnam’s representatives at the upcoming SEA Games 31. With the goal of bringing home medals for the country, most VCS teams fielded their strongest lineups for this qualifying tournament, even though they still have the VCS Spring 2022 to compete in and further ahead, MSI 2022.
The results of the first day of competition largely aligned with fans’ predictions. CERBERUS Esports, despite fielding their second team, still proved too strong compared to the representatives from VCS B. Meanwhile, Saigon Buffalo and GAM Esports, using their strongest forces, easily achieved an undefeated record with three victories on the opening day. Notably, SGB even defeated CES in their final match of the first day.
Two other names also maintaining their undefeated streak are Luxury Esports and AS Esports. While LX has performed impressively in VCS Winter 2021, ASE is a surprising dark horse. Featuring several names that have previously competed in VCS A such as EasyLove and Zin… ASE has shown to be significantly stronger than its competitors in VCS B. However, having not yet faced any teams from VCS A, it may be a bit premature to place trust in this up-and-coming team.
Overall, the first day of the SEA Games 31 qualifiers did not bring too many surprises. The higher-rated teams all secured victories. Eight teams will advance to the next round, so there remains hope for those teams that lost on the first day. And certainly, VCS A teams will always be rated higher and carry more expectations compared to lower-tier teams in their quest for representing Vietnam at the upcoming SEA Games 31.