Entering their first do-or-die match at the World Championship (Worlds) 2023, GAM Esports had to win to keep their hopes alive. Their opponent was Movistar R7 – a wildcard team that had previously defeated GAM, directly eliminating the VCS representative at MSI 2023. With such a history of encounters and the fact that GAM had just lost to LOUD (another wildcard team), there were not many optimistic opinions for the yellow-and-black squad.
However, what VCS fans had been eagerly anticipating from GAM since before Worlds 2023 finally came to fruition. In a stellar performance, or more accurately, playing to their full potential, the players from VCS gave their opponents no chance as soon as GAM gained the upper hand. Both games were a slow yet steady snowball, played with maximum caution. R7 struggled to fight back, but it was all in vain. GAM secured victory, avenged themselves, and eliminated R7 from the World Championship 2023, continuing to hope for the Swiss stage.
On international LoL forums, foreign fans “screamed in horror” as once again, their predictions for a Pentakill were incorrect. GAM was the team that “set up” Route for a Pentakill in the opening match, and now they were the team to take away the second Pentakill of Worlds 2023. Some fans even lamented: “Worlds 2023 hasn’t even started the Swiss stage, but my Pick’Ems have been destroyed.”
For their part, VCS fans were still very joyful but did not show excessive excitement. This is reasonable as after the match against R7, GAM will face LOUD on October 14. Then, on October 15, if they overcome LLL, GAM will clash with TW. That will be the most anticipated “VCS derby” at the moment. Additionally, Teacher Ba also managed to “sketch” the most unpredictable scenario where GAM “climbs the tower” and defeats TW to secure a spot in the Swiss stage.
Of course, GAM is the winning team and they have the right to plan further. However, the GAM players also need to maintain maximum focus for the upcoming matches and address any weaknesses shown in the match against R7. LLL is certainly a strong opponent and they will not allow many mistakes for GAM to exploit.