In recent days, the first matches of VCS Summer 2024 have officially kicked off with much higher expectations than in previous years. This is the first tournament for the Vietnamese League of Legends scene after the match-fixing scandal. Following that, a series of young players or those who had temporarily left League of Legends recently appeared. Fans hope these new faces will bring a fresh breeze, injecting professionalism into a tournament that has suffered significant trust issues due to previous misconduct. And so far, viewers can feel somewhat satisfied.
However, according to many audience opinions, GAM Esports will struggle to replicate their dominant journeys to championship titles like in previous seasons. Perhaps many Vietnamese League of Legends fans still remember that GAM once established numerous long unbeaten streaks in VCS. With strong potential and undeniable talent from the players, each GAM match in past seasons was often too predictable in outcome. In fact, many fans could even envision the battle scenario even before GAM fought: two teams evenly matched in the laning phase or GAM slightly overwhelmed – GAM continuously tower diving – GAM snowballing or turning the game around to win.
However, in their recent match against CERBERUS Esports, GAM did not showcase the dominance they were known for. And without the star moments from Emo (game 1) and Kiaya (game 3), it’s uncertain how the match would have turned out.
In reality, GAM still possesses one of the best roster qualities. Emo and EasyLove have significant experience from previous competitions. Compared to players who are experiencing the high-level competition for the first time or those returning after a long break, these two players undoubtedly have an advantage.
However, a significant strength among the new players in VCS, even in teams that are generally considered weaker, is their youth and eagerness to prove themselves. In fact, during GAM’s recent match, Slowz from CES stood out significantly among the ten players from both teams. Meliodas’s return to League of Legends after a long absence has also shown that he has not lost his skill. The former Saigon Buffalo star played calmly and posed several challenges for Levi.
Furthermore, in previous seasons, when negative factors weighed heavily, whether they wanted to or not, these behaviors still impacted match outcomes. It’s very likely that sometimes the “perpetrators” didn’t care about their performance but only aimed to fulfill their cheating agreements. This has caused them to compete without much professionalism.
This season, GAM may still dominate thanks to experience, star power, and a slightly superior roster depth. But it is almost certain that this journey will not be easy, especially as strong teams like Vikings Esports or Team Whales are also eager to take down the reigning champions to compete for the title and the upcoming World Championship slots.