On May 17, the GAM Esports team officially departed for Hanoi to begin their journey at SEA Games 31. The defending champion of the VCS Spring 2022 will represent the Vietnamese national team in the League of Legends competition at SEA Games 31. In the group stage, the Vietnamese team will be in Group B, and their opponents will be Malaysia and Laos.
With the VCS region being considered one of the most developed League of Legends scenes in Southeast Asia, the prospect of the Vietnamese team winning gold at SEA Games 31 is estimated to be about 80-90%. However, this does not give the Vietnamese players the right to underestimate their opponents. They must maintain maximum focus. On the morning of May 18, the players from the teams had a session to familiarize themselves with the equipment that will be used in the League of Legends competition at SEA Games 31.
The training atmosphere among the players is very cheerful and relaxed. It can be seen that despite bearing the significant responsibility of winning a gold medal for the Vietnamese national team, the GAM players feel no pressure at all.
Another special thing is that in their group at SEA Games 31, the Laos national team is using a female player. Her name is Maliphone “PouPaenG” Pharkhine – the Mid Laner for the Laos team at this SEA Games 31. She is currently a trending name in the VCS community due to her cuteness and being one of the rare female players in League of Legends competing alongside male players in a professional match. PouPaenG will be Kati’s opponent when the two teams face off.
However, despite facing a beautiful female opponent, Kati affirmed: “I feel quite surprised. This is also the first time I will face a female opponent in professional play. To ensure fairness, I will compete to the best of my ability in the spirit of sportsmanship.”
For his part, from being a player doubted by the entire VCS community, Sty1e has now become a representative for Vietnam at a SEA Games. The MVP of the LCK Spring 2022 final also stated: “I feel very proud to be a League of Legends player representing Vietnam at SEA Games 31. I am very confident and do not feel pressure and will do my best to bring home the gold medal for the country.” His teammate in the same position, Divkid, confidently stated that he will “give the silver and bronze medals to other teams, while the gold medal is for Vietnam.”
Meanwhile, captain Levi could not hide his pride in wearing the Vietnamese national team jersey. “Not only am I proud, but my family is also very proud that I can represent the Vietnamese national team.” Levi highly regards the Thai team as the strongest competitor but confidently believes that Vietnam has a 90% chance of winning the gold medal.
Another opponent in Vietnam’s group, alongside Laos, is Malaysia. Among these players, the most familiar face to Vietnamese fans is undoubtedly captain QaspieL. He also affirmed that Malaysia’s goal at this SEA Games 31 is the silver medal.
The teams will officially embark on their SEA Games 31 journey on the morning of May 20. In the opening match, the Vietnamese team will face Malaysia. All matches will be BO1, and each group will select 2 representatives to advance to the next round.