Everything you need to know about the VCSA Spring Split
The 2016 Vietnam Championship Series A Spring Split (VCSA) begins on 15 January and ends nine weeks later, with the play-off bracket stage to follow.
The VCSA is the highest professional League of Legends tournament to take place in Vietnam, with the organizers hoping to boost the profile of the country’s LoL scene and bring some international attention. Ten teams will be participating and the top prize sits at around 250,000,000 VNĐ (approximately $11,000).
Despite the country’s LoL scene having a relatively low profile, it is worth noting that players with ties to Vietnam are not exactly a rarity in international competition. North America in particular has an array of talent who boast Vietnamese roots, including Cloud9’s Hai ‘Hai’ Du Lam and An ‘Balls’ Van Le. TSM owner and former Mid Laner Andy ‘Reginald’ Dinh and his brother Dan (formerly of Epik Gamer) are also of Vietnamese descent.
Vietnamese teams are eligible for the SE Asia-based Garena Premier League, with several VCSA outfits taking part in recent years. The GPL was actually the world’s first major professional LoL league, formed in 2012. The league format has since been adopted worldwide, supplanting the previous focus on international tournaments.
In 2014, the Garena GPL split off into two branches, with teams from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan forming the League of Legends Masters Series or LMS. The unfortunate knock-on effect of this for teams in the GPL is that no team automatically qualifies for the World Championship directly from the league any more. Last season’s GPL winners the Bangkok Titans did make it to Worlds through the International Wildcard Tournament, although their 0-6 record in the group phase meant they headed home at the earliest opportunity.
For teams based in Vietnam, more tournaments, more practice and more events that replicate professional-level play are vital to their development. This is especially the case if they want to challenge for the GPL and make it through a grueling Wildcard bracket to get to Worlds. Consequently, we’d expect teams to put up a strong showing for the VCSA.
Format:
The format is very simple, with single round robin rules, meaning each team will play each other once. The top four teams will then move into a play-off bracket to vie for regional dominance.
Let’s take a closer look at each of the teams:
An Phat Ultimate
An Phat Ultimate were present in last year’s GPL Spring Group Stage 2, but their 3-9 record resulted in a swift exit from the competition. Their captain, Jungler Tarzan, is the positive force within the team, with an aggressive play-style and unbridled optimism. If An Phat Ultimate are to progress in the VCSA, he’ll need to pull the strings for them.
Boba Marines
The Boba Marines were present at the GPL Summer Group Stage 2, finishing top of the round robin stage with an impressive 6-1 record. However, they were taken down in the play-off stage by a resurgent Saigon Jokers team, losing 3-0. In the third-place play-off, a grueling best-of-five encounter saw them finish in 4th place as they were bested by GIGABYTE Full Louis in a series that ended 3-2.
GIGABYTE Full Louis
Taking part in both GPL tournaments last year, GIGABYTE Full Louis had decent showings in both competitions. In Spring, their 5-7 record wasn’t quite good enough to take them into the play-offs, but Summer saw them finish 3rd overall, with a 5-2 record for the round robin stage followed by victory over the Boba Marines in the third-place play-off. They have to be considered one of the strongest contenders in the VCSA this time around.
Tora 269
A 3rd place finish in GPL Spring Play-offs suggests that Tora 269 could be another strong team in the VCSA. They even finished level with eventual World Championship contenders the Bangkok Titans in the group stage with an 8-4 record.
Saigon Fantastic Five dumped them out of the play-off bracket with a closely fought 3-2 victory, but 269 were able to come out swinging for the third-place match, beating Insidious Gaming 3-1.
Saigon Jokers
The Saigon Jokers are one of the oldest teams in the region, having been formed in April 2012 for the GPL, where they took a roster of 10 players from the 2000 who tried out for the side. Their 2nd place finish in GPL Summer 2015 suggests a team that is expected to put up a very strong showing at VCSA and a side of their stature will expect nothing less than victory in this tournament.
ZOTAC United
Another GPL contender, ZOTAC United will be disappointed by their showing in GPL Summer 2015 as a 1-6 record meant they didn’t reach the play-off stage of the competition. Support player Vigoss is a former member of the Saigon Jokers and his aggressive play might be key to any success for ZOTAC.
There are four others teams participating in the VCSA, none of whom have played in a professional championship before. They are Saigon HoangLong, Saigon NG Esports, CyberCore Anonys and Hanoi T Team. Little is expected of this quartet.
In conclusion, the VCSA is a tournament in a region that lives on the fringes of the professional League of Legends scene, but despite this, the VCSA will be fiercely competitive. Expect teams like Saigon Jokers and GIGABYTE Full Louis to put up strong showings, especially against some of the less experienced teams entering the competition.
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