2021 can be said to be an extremely unfortunate year for League of Legends in Vietnam in general, especially for the teams and players. Due to the pandemic, the VCS region has missed both MSI 2021 and the upcoming Worlds in Iceland. Even the VCS Summer tournament was postponed indefinitely for the same reason, leaving teams in a dire situation while players spent a lot of time training only to face disappointment.
However, according to a source, we learned that the VCS organizers have planned to hold a tournament called VCS Winter 2021 in December 2021. This can be considered unprecedented since all regional tournaments in the League of Legends system began to be organized in a common format (including Spring and Summer tournaments) to facilitate teams’ preparations for international tournaments, player transfers, and to give players time to rest.
However, our source also indicates that 3 out of 8 teams disagreed with the plan to organize VCS Winter, among which is GAM Esports (the other two teams are CES and BTS). The black and yellow team has continuously fought for the VCS to participate in Worlds 2021, and the GAM players have maintained a regular training pace throughout the social distancing period. But currently, this team resolutely refuses to hold VCS Winter.
According to GameK’s source, there are significant reasons for the refusal from GAM, CES, and BTS. First, the VCS Winter tournament will only serve to resolve the issue of prize money; otherwise, it holds no other meaning as the VCS has already confirmed its absence from Worlds 2021.
Additionally, the end of the year is often the time for teams to renegotiate contracts, so stabilizing personnel in time for the tournament is an issue that makes teams hesitant. For example, regarding GAM Esports, Levi and Kati’s contracts will expire in November, and instead of having an off-season break to negotiate contracts, GAM will have to expedite this process to retain key players if they want to compete in the Winter tournament.
On the other hand, one proposal suggested by the teams is to push the Spring tournament forward to apply for visas for teams preparing for MSI 2022, but currently, Garena has not responded to this matter.
Currently, information surrounding the VCS Winter tournament has not been officially announced by the VCS organizers. However, whatever the plan may be, the biggest desire of the teams in the VCS region remains a thorough, reasonable resolution from the individuals and organizations responsible for this tournament.