GAM Esports, the top seed from VCS, has successfully advanced through the League of Legends World Championships Play-In stage, securing the second-to-last spot in the Swiss stage. They achieved this by defeating regional rivals Team Whales 3-1 in an intense series that marked the beginning of the final day of the Play-Ins.
GAM initially found themselves in the Play-In group’s lower bracket on the first day following a loss to Brazilian representatives LOUD. However, the Vietnamese team fought their way back through Movistar R7, and they also avenged their loss to LOUD, setting up a meeting with Team Whales.
Team Whales, apart from their jungler BeanJ, was making their debut at the 2023 League of Legends World Championships. They managed to overcome their nerves and top group B with victories over BDS, who qualified from WQS, and CTBC Flying Oyster. However, they ultimately found their VCS rivals to be a formidable opponent.
GAM initiated the series with a 27-minute victory, led by Kati’s impressive performance on Syndra, making a significant impact in the series. While Team Whales struck back strongly with a one-sided win in the second game, with a kill score of 20-3, GAM regained their composure and secured their place in the Swiss stage.
Kati delivered an outstanding performance in the final match, amassing five kills and 17 assists, including several solo kills, while playing Orianna. This performance earned him the match MVP title and led GAM back to the main event of Worlds.
It’s worth noting that GAM also made it to the Worlds 2022 main event through VCS’ automatic invitation. Their appearance last year marked the return of the Vietnamese League to the main tournament after the COVID pandemic prevented the region from attending Worlds in 2020 and 2021.
In both 2019 and 2022, GAM had a 1-5 record and was eliminated from the tournament early. However, with the introduction of the new Swiss stage format for the first time at Worlds 2023, the team is determined to make a deeper run. They will be placed in the fourth pool for the draw, alongside LCK’s Dplus KIA and LPL’s Weibo Gaming, as well as the winner of the final Play-In qualifier between PSG Talon and Team BDS.
The League Worlds Play-Ins will conclude today with the best-of-five match between Talon and BDS, determining the 16th and final squad to advance to the main event.