In the recent match against Team Secret, it was clear that GAM Esports faced numerous challenges. Of course, the ultimate goal remains the most important: securing a ticket to the World Championship (Worlds) 2023 as well as the right to advance to the VCS Finals. Both of these goals have been achieved by GAM. However, the manner in which they secured their victory left many spectators worried, if not outright unconvinced.
Specifically, according to many commentators, GAM did not demonstrate superiority over Team Secret as the audience had anticipated. With a lineup that can be described as a “Dream Team,” the strongest in VCS at present, they struggled against a TS team that had undergone personnel changes by promoting Top Laner Hiro02 to Mid Lane. Notably, many viewers admitted they had “heart palpitations” while watching game 5 when GAM lost in a 2v2 situation early in the game.
Additionally, there was direct criticism of Slayder’s item build in game 5 against TS. According to one analysis, if Slayder had opted for an ability power build for Kai’Sa, the match could have been much easier for GAM. This opinion received widespread agreement, and even League of Legends expert Molecule had to concur.
In the recent match, although TS had many resilient champions (Irelia, Sejuani, and Leona, Gragas), Slayder opted for lethality, focusing on physical damage, while only Leona and Irelia had some magic resistance. This turned out to be somewhat ineffective as Slayder had to rely heavily on his teammates to “create opportunities” to finish off opponents. The damage Slayder dealt was significant, but it was largely supported by Kati and Kiaya.
For now, GAM has completed its first mission, despite many difficulties. Ahead, they still have one more finals match and more importantly, the World Championship 2023. Slayder will need to perform better than Sty1e did before so that the fans can see that choosing him was the right decision for GAM as well as for the supporters of the black-and-yellow team.