Ho Chi Minh City, September 10, 2021 – The publisher of League of Legends, Riot Games, has announced that Vietnam will not be able to have a representative at Worlds 2021 due to the pandemic travel restrictions in Vietnam. This is the third international tournament over the course of 2 years that GAM has missed. The Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) Summer 2021 has been delayed and may be rescheduled for the end of the year. GAM just wants the opportunity to represent Vietnam on the global stage.
The League of Legends World Championship (or Worlds for short) is the largest professional League of Legends tournament held annually by Riot Games with 24 teams from around the world. Worlds is the most prestigious and most watched esports tournament in the world with the finals of Worlds 2018 reaching over 100 million viewers.
CEO TK Nguyen of NRG Asia – the parent company of GAM Esports commented:
“It is heartbreaking that GAM is once again unable to compete on the international stage. We were informed that GAM will have the opportunity to represent VCS, but with the current pandemic situation that opportunity is not possible. Since taking over GAM in April, we have lost the opportunity to participate in two of the largest tournaments in the world, MSI and Worlds.
Vietnam is in a difficult situation, but we were hoping to represent Vietnam, the VCS and the LoL community to unite and inspire them during these trying difficult times. We are trying to stay optimistic and remind ourselves that every legendary story has difficulties, hardships and failures. We will overcome this and make Vietnam proud.”
Mr. Nguyen Khanh Hiep – General Manager of the team also shared his thoughts on the situation:
“The fact that the VCS has not taken place for 6 months is unprecedented in the history of the tournament. Investors choose VCS because it is a place with great potential for development and has a ticket to the biggest esports stage in the world. GAM and other VCS teams have been practicing relentlessly 6 days a week since mid-May to September without playing a single match. I think all VCS teams have lost a lot of time, money and morale.
I am very sympathetic to the current situation surrounding the pandemic. I think the tournament organizers need to better prepare for solutions to organize the tournament moving forward. Because for us, no tournament means facing the risk of dissolving.”
From the perspective of Levi – the captain of GAM eSports said:
“Everybody knows that eSports athletes have a very short career, and not being able to play for too long will have a big impact on a player’s current performance and can affect their career for the long run. We are in a dire situation.”