On the evening of June 11 (Vietnam time), Riot made a new announcement that sent the VCS community into a frenzy. Specifically, starting in 2025, there may no longer be a separate Vietnam region in the professional League of Legends scene, as VCS could merge with PCS, LJL… to form a larger APAC region. At the same time, there will be a new international tournament, and changes are coming to the MSI and Worlds formats, particularly regarding the number of qualification spots.
This announcement has left many Vietnamese League of Legends fans quite anxious. To participate in international tournaments, VCS teams will now have to compete not only for top domestic results but also against opponents from PCS, LJL, LCO… in the APAC region. Faced with this prospect, many fans have expressed considerable concern. However, in reality, the planned merger of VCS into APAC could bring many benefits.
Improving the Region’s Quality
There is a rather harsh reality: the performance of VCS representatives at international tournaments, while impressive, has not significantly changed compared to the GPL era; it merely stops at surprising major region teams like LPL, LEC. Winning against wildcard teams is not particularly surprising. In fact, losing to a wildcard team could be seen as shameful, as in the case of GAM Esports against Movistar R7 during MSI 2023.
Merging VCS and requiring the region’s representatives to compete with teams from PCS, LJL… will serve as another filtering round for VCS teams to truly prove their capabilities before stepping into the larger arena. As one opinion accurately stated: “In the group of smaller and wildcard regions, VCS may only be concerned about PSG Talon, as the two teams are nearly evenly matched. If they cannot even win against LJL or LCO, then VCS teams at home are deserving of their place.”
Could Attract More Attention
Of course, after a tumultuous Spring 2024 with match-fixing scandals, and with the impending merger into APAC in 2025, VCS will likely face challenges regarding sponsorship issues. However, looking at it positively: VCS is currently in the best possible phase for development, after the immediate negative factors have been temporarily pushed back. Moreover, having a new tournament also means VCS will get more opportunities to step into the international arena, which will encourage sponsors about the region’s potential.
Those interested in investing in Vietnamese League of Legends will have to consider further, and 2025 will be chosen to observe how Riot’s new experiments will specifically impact Vietnamese League of Legends. However, if VCS performs well in Riot’s new tournament or in competitions against teams from other regions in the battle for MSI and Worlds spots, this could be an unparalleled opportunity for VCS to regain the trust of fans and investors alike.
There Can Still Be the Worst-Case Scenario
Amidst all the positive and optimistic situations, there still exists the worst-case scenario: no VCS representatives make it through the qualification round against other APAC regions for international tournaments. Especially in the context where VCS needs a significant rebuild after the match-fixing scandal, the teams are no longer as strong as they were in previous phases.
However, if this undesirable scenario occurs, VCS fans may have to accept it. After all, rebuilding cannot be done overnight. More importantly, the upcoming matches will help VCS recognize the current position of the region in the international League of Legends scene and the shortcomings and advantages still in existence. Therefore, even if they may face failure, VCS fans should not be overly harsh on the teams. The journey ahead will be tougher, but it will also be of higher quality, which is essential for the real development of Vietnamese League of Legends.