On May 10, Vietnam’s League of Legends team officially began their journey to win gold at SEA Games 31. As the host country and the region with the highest level of League of Legends in Southeast Asia, Vietnam is expected not only to win but to deliver the most convincing victories. In particular, the Vietnamese team consists of players from GAM Esports, the reigning champions of the VCS Spring 2022, with an unbeaten record. Therefore, expectations are significantly higher.
Group A
With Vietnam regarded as significantly “outclassing” the competition, all three of their group stage matches were essentially practice runs for the team. Only Malaysia posed a slight challenge to Vietnam at the beginning of the match. However, as each position in Vietnam proved to be stronger than their opponents, everything fell into place.
When facing Laos, both matches were simply too easy for Vietnam. Nevertheless, the Vietnamese players maintained a serious competitive attitude. As a result, the Vietnam League of Legends team secured two games lasting 14 minutes and 13 minutes respectively against Laos.
After the victory, Levi expressed confidence that there is a 90% chance Vietnam will win the gold medal. Meanwhile, Kati, despite completely dominating female player PouPaenG, still offered many compliments to her. Kati noted that PouPaenG played well in the lane during the match.
The other team joining Vietnam in the semifinals is Malaysia. Despite their best efforts, PouPaenG and the Laos team had to exit the tournament early after the group stage.
The Laos team, especially female player PouPaenG, left a strong impression in the League of Legends community
Group B
In contrast to Group A, Group B saw little difference between the two teams, Philippines and Singapore, both of which have strong esports backgrounds in Southeast Asia. In fact, this matchup had to go to a tie-breaker to determine the top spot, as each side had a record of 3-1. With their tie-break victory, the Philippines will face Malaysia in Semifinal 1. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s opponent in Semifinal 2 will be Singapore.
The two semifinal matches will take place on May 21 in a best-of-five format. Given their performance and what they showcased in the group stage, fan confidence in the Vietnamese players on their quest for gold at SEA Games 31 is growing. However, fans still hope for more intense battles from the players of all teams.
