In recent days, SBTC Esports and their fans, along with the team’s management, have been “on cloud nine.” After countless difficulties since its establishment at the beginning of VCS Spring 2021, only now has SE started to show the audience the “fruits of their labor.” Although they have not yet achieved any specific goals, SE’s convincing recent victories have given their fans a sense of relief.
In the current SEA Games 31 League of Legends qualifiers, SE can be considered a strong contender for one of the two spots in the final round to determine the representative for Vietnam in the leading esports tournament in Southeast Asia. Although in the first qualifier, “Gà Hồng” proved their status as the “national circus” by almost being eliminated, since round 2, SE has been showing a completely new face.
First, they defeated GAM Esports – a team that SE has never won a single game against since its establishment, with a score of 2-0. Then, Team Secret and recently the “invincible” from the first qualifier – Luxury Esports also fell to SE. Currently, “Gà Hồng” is one of the unbeaten teams in the second qualifier of SEA Games 31, alongside Saigon Buffalo and Burst The Sky Esports.
Entering the match against LX, with the opponent in a poor form in both the SEA Games 31 qualifiers and VCS Spring 2022, many fans were hesitant to be overly confident about an easy match for SE, especially since they had just faced two bans a few days prior. Moreover, LX can be considered a “kryptonite” for “Gà Hồng.” In their recent encounters, SE has not found a single victory against LX. In fact, they lost badly in both matches in the first qualifier.
However, at this moment, everything has changed. SE is no longer the “national circus” since Spot replaced DNK in the jungle position. In game 1 of the matchup between LX and SE, both teams showcased the true “VCS spirit” with frequent skirmishes leading to many takedowns. Although SE lost Baron to LX, they fought back remarkably. As the game progressed, the gap SE created became larger. “Gà Hồng” concluded game 1 after a tense 29 minutes, taking the lead 1-0.
In game 2, the pace was even faster than in game 1. LX’s players seemed to have given up after their defeat in game 1, making SE’s job far too easy. In less than 20 minutes of gameplay, LX’s Nexus exploded, and SE continued to extend their unbeaten streak with a convincing 2-0 victory, simultaneously avenging their losses to LX in both the home and away matches of the first qualifier for SEA Games 31.
On the same day, Saigon Buffalo also secured a victory against Team Flash, thus maintaining their unbeaten record in the second round of the SEA Games 31 League of Legends qualifiers, just like SE. One could say that SKY, SE, and SGB are three teams that are putting one foot into the top 4 of this qualifier for SEA Games 31. If SE unexpectedly secures a spot in the leading sports tournament in Southeast Asia, it would be a massive surprise for the entire VCS community in the near future.