The second qualifier round for SEA Games 31 in League of Legends officially kicked off on February 14, featuring two matchups: CERBERUS Esports vs. Team Flash and SBTC Esports vs. GAM Esports. Both are highly anticipated clashes. While CES is the reigning champion of VCS Winter 2021, TF has shown signs of revival with the return of Slayder. The match between GAM and SE can be considered a rivalry filled with history. Notably, SE’s roster includes three former GAM players: Palette, Spot, and 2T. To top it off, Scary from the coaching staff is also a “former” member of GAM.
The spotlight will be on the SE vs. GAM match as both teams will field their strongest lineups, while CES continues to use their backup team against TF. And the shockwave truly happened. “Circus” SE, with three out of five main roster members reuniting against their former team, played exceptionally well. Although GAM had a significantly better laning phase, SE executed team fights flawlessly. SE took the lead 1-0, leaving the audience in disbelief.
Moving into game 2, things became even more shocking. The same old script: GAM completely dominated the minion count in both solo lanes, with only Celebrity performing well during the laning phase. But that was all SE needed. With the outstanding performance of the “black sheep” Spot, SE not only won team fights but also, while the audience began thinking about game 3, Spot bought enough time for GAM to lose their numerical advantage. In the final fight, Divkid was taken down too quickly, leaving GAM at a disadvantage. And when Levi fell, SE completed the “shockwave” against GAM Esports.
This is an incredibly surprising victory for SE, as they have been performing poorly in VCS Spring 2022 with two consecutive losses. This also marks the first time since the team’s establishment that SE has secured a victory against GAM in an official match. With this win, SE will have a significant psychological advantage in the remainder of the SEA Games 31 journey.
As for GAM, they still performed well in the laning phase, but it was clear that during team fights, the players played too disjointedly. Nevertheless, GAM’s journey in the SEA Games 31 qualifiers is still long, and they have plenty of opportunities to correct their mistakes.
In another match on the same day, CES fielded a backup team and still managed to defeat TF, who had all their strongest players. Along with SE, CES had a very favorable start to the second qualifier round. Meanwhile, GAM and TF have a lot of work to do if they want to keep their hopes alive in the upcoming SEA Games 31 competition.
