Zeros’ real name is Pham Minh Loc (born in 2000), the youngest in a family of three brothers. Among them, both of Zeros’ older brothers are professional Esports players, but when it comes to a career in Electronic Sports, the Demon King Zeros shines the brightest.
Three VCS championships; the first player in VCS history to participate in three consecutive international tournaments (World Championship 2018, MSI 2019, and World Championship 2019) and was awarded the title of best top laner in Vietnam are his achievements.
However, that was the story from three years ago. Currently, past successes cannot help the “Demon King” regain favor after continuous failures and negative criticism.
2014 – 2017: Familiar with League of Legends from an early age, by 2017, Zeros had competed in 3 seasons of VCSB with one championship. Playing a relatively wide champion pool, especially with physical damage champions like Jarvan IV, Fiora, Zeros was soon noticed by professional teams. However, due to age restrictions, this player did not have the opportunity to compete professionally.
In 2018: After helping HOF achieve a VCSB championship as well as a promotion spot, Zeros was then old enough to compete professionally and soon found his home at GAM Esports.
The first season at GAM did not help Zeros make a significant personal impact. With the strategy not focusing on the top lane from coach Tinikun, this was also a reasonable ‘step back’ that allowed Zeros to expand his champion pool while preparing to truly ‘acclimate’ to the largest professional arena in Vietnam!
Ending the 2018 Spring VCS in second place, Zeros made a pivotal decision: Leaving GAM to join PVB and turning his World Championship dream into reality!
Dominating play, unafraid of any opponent in the top lane and always a key player bringing victories to his team, the nickname ‘Demon King’ truly suits this player. He only suffered 2 losses during the group stage, claimed the top spot, and surged to the finals – the final battle this player had long awaited.
The MVP of the finals and also the MVP of the group stage is a deserved reward for this player’s tireless efforts – shown through his progressively improving gameplay day by day.
Having achieved success with his dream of participating in the World Championship, now he and his teammates face a huge challenge – to go far in the 2018 World Championship.
2018: Riot Games acknowledged that ‘Demon King’ Zeros is the most watchable player at the 2018 World Championship.
According to Bynjee, PVB is the only team that allocates all resources to the top lane, thanks to Zeros’ ability to ‘carry’. Zeros is the ‘pride’ of the Vietnamese esports community. Zeros’ talent is expected by the international League of Legends community to continue creating new miracles at the 2018 World Championship.
In 2019, Zeros returned to GAM. The combination of Zeros and Levi brought devastating power to GAM Esports at the summer 2019 tournament with a completely overwhelming championship.
There is a paradox that being among the top VCS players to participate in the most international tournaments, Zeros has yet to leave a significant impression on the international gaming community. These factors have placed Zeros in a ‘precarious’ state: his skill surpasses the limits of the ‘village pond’ VCS but is not enough to swim in the big ocean.
After the 2019 season, Zeros decided to leave GAM Esports to play in China, but due to the complex COVID-19 situation, he had to stay and play for GAM for the remainder of the 2019 Spring VCS.
The planned “studying abroad” was interrupted, marking a point where fans only knew him as the main character in the most sensational dramas in the Vietnamese League of Legends community.
2019: From one of the most anticipated teams at the 2019 World Championship, coach Tinikun’s team delivered a disappointing performance with only one win in the group stage. High-rated players like Levi and Zeros faced the most criticism due to their unimpressive performance. Many believed that both were the main reasons for GAM’s failure at this World Championship.
Moreover, the 2019 season ended up being very forgettable for Zeros as he was criticized for his poor performance, and his League of Legends account was also banned for 2 weeks, leaving him no chance to rank up further.
“Many talents, many flaws,” Zeros’ solo lane ability is a “dangerous” weapon but it also creates many weaknesses for this player. Zeros is overly confident, making him easy prey for more skilled opponents, and he has even been accused of being a “burden” to his teammates due to his individual playstyle. Not to mention a series of other scandals have surrounded him: from travel issues, being banned from competition, to controversies abroad, a lack of seriousness while playing, salary debts…
Just before the start of the 2021 Spring VCS, Zeros had ‘opened the season’ with a punishment not only for himself but for the entire SBTC team.
Most recently, Tinikun pointed out Zeros’ irresponsibility, lack of respect, and team disruption… causing problems in team training, often waking up late despite scheduled practice with other teams. This led to an unexpected consequence, which was SBTC Esports canceling many practice schedules with other teams, as they were seen as untrustworthy and not adhering to the agreed training schedule.
Additionally, Zeros’ performance is no longer as stable as before, the top lane carry meta has become outdated with the champions in the top lane making it even harder for Zeros to ‘find himself’ again.
Zeros has changed a lot, from a boy sitting in an internet café playing tournaments to a ‘Top Lane Demon King’, now he may very well become a ‘loser’ if he does not stand up to find his golden age again.
