GAM and LCP Teams Prove Riot’s Policies
At the beginning of the season, Riot decided to merge VCS, PCS, LJL, and LTS into a single region called APAC, with the league for this region determining the qualification for international tournaments in professional League of Legends named LCP. Initially, this decision sparked much controversy, especially from the two major regions of the APAC group, PCS and VCS. One side is too strong in terms of expertise compared to the others (PCS), and the other side dominates in community coverage. However, to date, a series of evidence shows that Riot has made the right decision for APAC.
According to a recent statistic from the Esports Charts website, the peak view count for the match between CFO and GAM reached nearly half a million. This number may not compare to the view-count giants of the League of Legends scene like T1 or LPL, but it is quite encouraging for APAC. Of course, this view count does not include the audience from China, which would certainly be very interested as CFO has many players from the billion-people country or those who have previously competed there.
Moreover, the improvement in competitive quality is clear and undeniable. Many viewers may still remember how CFO had a tough time against Top Esports, Karmine Corp, or Team Liquid in the First Stand, as well as how they made HLE sweat. CFO is also the only team so far (not counting HLE) that has participated in the First Stand 2025 and secured a spot in MSI 2025, while three teams from LPL, LEC, and LTA have “fallen out”.
But GAM and VCS Teams Must Strive Harder
While the quality of APAC has undoubtedly improved, it is clear that compared to TALON or CFO, all three VCS teams still lag behind. GAM this season has only managed to beat a PCS team in the playoffs of the regional tournament for the first time. Meanwhile, MVKE and TSW are still too inconsistent.
The competition for a spot at the 2025 World Championship will likely remain a battle between VCS and PCS, but Taiwan appears to be outperforming while Vietnamese League of Legends has yet to leave a significant mark.