With MSI 2022 being held in South Korea, VCS representatives are almost certain to participate in the tournament. The recent move by the VCS organizers has indicated this by adjusting the schedule to finish early at the end of April. Additionally, according to some information, the top teams in the league have also been rushing to apply for visas in the past weeks to ensure there are no last-minute issues.
Now that the return of VCS representatives is clearer, Vietnamese League of Legends fans are expressing concerns about the strength of that team. With GAM Esports unable to participate due to commitments in the SEA Games, hopes are placed on the two teams Saigon Buffalo and Cerberus Esports. However, the performances of both in recent weeks have left VCS fans genuinely skeptical.
Nevertheless, the announcement that MSI 2022 will maintain the same competition format as last season is truly an opportunity for representatives of League of Legends Vietnam.
According to the announcement from Riot, due to the CIS team being unable to participate, this year’s tournament will still feature 11 teams (similar to 2021 when GAM was absent). In the first round, teams will be divided into 3 groups, with two groups of 4 teams and one group of 3 teams. This grouping is based on the seed rankings of the regions, where VCS is likely to remain in group 2 (along with LCS and PCS). Thus, the main competitors for the second spot in each group will still be teams from the wildcard regions.
Among the wildcard teams over the years, the CIS representatives have often been rated the highest, but this year they will not be present. Meanwhile, other regions such as Japan, Turkey, Oceania, and Latin America have not shown significant development during this time. Therefore, the chances for VCS to secure victories against these teams and advance past the group stage are quite high.
When entering the Rumble stage consisting of the 6 strongest teams, it is clear that the goal of the VCS representatives is merely to gain experience, mark their return, and it will be very difficult to create surprises. With the devastating form of T1 currently and the top 4 teams from LPL, it is hard to imagine a scenario where CES, SGB, or any other VCS team could find a way to win, even in BO1 matches.
However, facing off against teams of the highest caliber (at least 2 matches) is also a valuable lesson that young VCS players find it hard to come by, so everyone will be ready to “take a beating” from Faker and his teammates.
To a lesser extent, teams in the LEC or LCS also have relatively balanced lineups and have shown a lot recently. Whether it is Rogue, Fnatic, 100 Thieves, or Cloud9, competing is not easy. Therefore, the most realistic goal is to compete with the Taiwanese neighbor with the highest potential representative being PSG Talon.
After 2 years of absence, this is clearly an opportunity for League of Legends teams to gain an accurate perspective on the strength of a region once considered to have high potential. MSI 2022 will be a pivotal tournament for the teams to gain the best insights, thus preparing for a return at the end of the year at Worlds 2022.