Wikipedia

Vietnam Championship Series

The Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) is a professional League of Legends esports league run by Riot Games and VNG Games, a subsidiary of VNG Corporation since 2022 after Garena stopped publishing League of Legends and its major competitions in Vietnam. From 2013 to 2017, the VCS was a tier below Garena Premier League (GPL). In 2018, the VCS broke away from the GPL and became a separate tier one league. In 2025, the VCS will return to being a tier two league, being below the upcoming League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP). The Vietnamese teams had the opportunity to participate directly in international events of League of Legends organized by Riot Games before then.[1]

Vietnam Championship Series
GameLeague of Legends
Founded2013
No. of teams8
CountriesVietnam
Most recent
champion(s)		GAM Esports (12th title)
Most titlesGAM Esports (12 titles)
QualificationPromotion and relegation
Promotion toLeague of Legends Championship Pacific (from 2025)
Relegation toVietnam Championship Series B
International cup(s)Mid Season Invitational
World Championship
Related
competitions		Garena Premier League
Official websitevcs.vnggames.com

History

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2012–2013

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Before changing the name to the Vietnam Championship Series tournament that once named the Glorious Arena. Over 4 seasons from mid 2012 to the end of 2013 the tournament saw the dominance of Saigon Jokers with 3 times of champion and once champion of Full Louis. By the end of 2013, it was changed to Vietnam Championship Series.

2013–2015

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The first tournament was held in 2013 with the name Vietnam Championship Series without qualifying, the participating teams were invited by Vietnam Esports and the total prize value of the first tournament was VND 200,000,000. From the third season, the tournament starts with qualifiers and names are also changed to Vietnam Championship Series (VCS A) to distinguish them from the qualifying tournament of Vietnam Championship Series B (VCS B). In 2014, sponsored by Dell, the name of the prize was named Dell Championship Serie A (DCS A).

In 2015, the number of teams participating in VCS A was increased to 16 teams, playing in a round robin format with two turns (first and second round) scoring according to the Bo1 format. The team with the most points will be crowned champion. Saigon Fantastic Five has won the VCS A championship in spring 2015 and then the GPL spring 2015, becoming the first Vietnamese team to win the GPL.

2016

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In 2016, VCS A made a big step when the tournament was officially part of the Riot Games tournament system, marking the official VCS A step up professionally. The organizing committee reduced the number of participating teams to 10, in return it will give 2 million VND / month to the coaches and athletes. The tournament format also changes accordingly: 10 rounds of 2 rounds count Bo1 points, 4 teams with the highest score will participate in play-offs to find champions. VCS A was also renamed Coca-Cola Championship Series (CCCS) under the sponsorship of Coca-Cola. By the summer of 2016, the Coca-Cola Championship Series was renamed the MountainDew Championship Series (MDCS) under the sponsorship of the Mountain Dew drinking water label.

2017

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The number of teams participating in the competition continues to be reduced to 8, in return for the coach and athletes' salary increased to 3 million VND / month. The format of the tournament is also changed: 8 rounds of 2 rounds count Bo3 points, 4 teams with the highest score will participate in play-offs to find the champion.[2]

2018

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Riot Games directly participated in the tour operation, the tournament returned with the name Vietnam Championship Series, the total prize pool increased to 1 billion VND 200 million, the salary of coach and athletes increased to VND 4 million / month . In addition, VCS matches are held at GG Stadium - 6th Floor, Crescent Mall, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City built by Riot Games, instead of being organized online as before. Teams not based in Ho Chi Minh City will be supported by the organizers during the VCS Spring 2018.[3] On 21 February 2018, VCS separated from GPL. This is a result based on the fact that in recent years VCS has always been the dominant force of the GPL. Especially at the two spring and summer events in 2017. Impressive competitions at MSI 2017 and World Championship 2017. Riot Games believes that this is a very appropriate time to get Vietnam away from the GPL to become a separate area. Changes in Vietnam's participatory international tournaments are as follows:

VCS Championship team Spring Spring 2018 will increase to 100 million VND, bringing the total value to 500 million VND will be separated from GPL's reward Spring 2018 (The expected prize that the Vietnamese champion team attends GPL Spring). However, this only applies to Spring, and from Summer onwards Vietnam will no longer relate to the GPL tournament.[4]

2024 - Match fixing scandal and final tier 1 season

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On 15 March 2024, the Spring 2024 season of VCS was suspended due to "unexpected reasons that could affect the matches". By this point the season was in its final week, with 6 matches to be played when the season was suspended. On 18 March, the matches played on 14 March, one day before the suspension, were ruled null and void. All 8 teams in the VCS were put under investigation, with 32 players suspended indefinitely.[5][6] Rainbow Warriors, one of the teams present, had all of their players suspended with people saying that they were Match fixing. The playoffs went ahead in April with the remaining Group stage games not played. On 3 June, before the Summer split, 29 of the 32 players were officially suspended. Rainbow Warriors were banned from the VCS and future Riot competitions and their spot was revoked in addition.[7]

On 11 June 2024 Riot announced "LoL Esports: Building Towards A Brighter Future", which overhauled the League of Legends Esports ecosystem. The VCS was to no longer be a league that qualified squads for the League of Legends World Championship, as instead an Asia-Pacific league would take its place. VCS would once again become a second tier, echoing the GPL days before 2018. The plans were as follows:

  • New International Tournament: First split with "Fearless Draft" drafting system
  • Three seasons, with Regional Championship after third season
  • League of Legends World Championship: Decrease to 17 teams
  • MSI: Decrease to 10 teams
  • Asia-Pacific League: 8 teams, 4 in partnership with Riot Games (Other 4 can relegate)

With 2024 Summer being the last season of VCS in Tier 1, GAM Esports won the title and, along with Vikings Esports, enter 2024 League of Legends World Championship, with GAM making Swiss Stage.[8] When the teams for the new league (League of Legends Championship Pacific [LCP]) were announced, GAM was announced as a partner team with Riot Games while Vikings Esports (as merit slot) and Team Whales joined as guests.[9]

Current participants (2024 Summer)

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Competition format

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Group stage

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This period will have the participation of 8 teams, playing rounds of 2 rounds to find out the 4 strongest teams participating in the qualifying rounds. Matches of the Group Stage will take place in the Best of 3 format (3 games maximum), each game is played according to the Prohibition mode and Choose 5vs5 on the map Summoner's Rift.[10]

Round knockout

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4 teams will compete against each other in a ladder mode to find the champion: the 3rd and 4th teams will fight each other in the first match, the winning team will go on to meet the 2nd team and whoever wins this match will be competing Finalists meet the top team. Matches of this stage will take place in the form of Best of 5 (5 games maximum), each game is played according to the ban and Select 5vs5 on the map Summoner's Rift.[10]

Past seasons

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Year Split Duration 1st 2nd 3rd
2013 Winter 11 February 2013 – 17 December 2013 XGame Hanoi Dragons Beautiful Life Gaming
2014 Spring 22 February 2014 – 13 April 2014 Team Ozone Cutie Monsters Hanoi Dragons Hanoi Fate
Summer 14 June 2014 – 24 September 2014 Hanoi Fate HoL Elements Hanoi Phoenix
2015 Spring 15 November 2014 – 4 June 2015 Saigon Fantastic Five Saigon Jokers Boba Marines
Summer 17 May 2015 – 24 August 2015 Boba Marines Full Louis Saigon Jokers
2016 Spring 15 January 2016 – 3 June 2016 Saigon Jokers Full Louis 269 Gaming
Boba Marines
Summer 20 May 2016 – 18 July 2016 Saigon Jokers Saigon Mongaming An Phát Ultimate
Boba Marines
2017 Spring 8 February 2017 – 2 April 2017 GIGABYTE Marines Young Generation UTM Esports
Summer 7 June 2017 – 13 August 2017 GIGABYTE Marines Young Generation ROG Friends
2018 Spring 18 January 2018 – 4 July 2018 EVOS Esports GIGABYTE Marines UTM Esports
Summer 21 June 2018 – 22 September 2018 Phong Vũ Buffalo Adonis Esports Friends Forever
2019 Spring 17 January 2019 – 13 April 2019 Phong Vũ Buffalo EVOS Esports Sky Gaming
Summer 20 June 2019 – 15 September 2019 GAM Esports Lowkey Esports Team Flash
2020 Spring 31 January 2020 – 18 April 2020 Team Flash GAM Esports EVOS Esports
Summer 19 June 2020 – 5 September 2020 Team Flash GAM Esports EVOS Esports
2021 Spring 22 January 2021 – 18 April 2021 GAM Esports Saigon Buffalo ⁠Team Secret
Summer Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
Winter 16 November 2021 – 26 December 2021 CERBERUS Esports GAM Esports Burst The Sky Esports
2022 Spring 11 February 2022 - 24 April 2022 GAM Esports Saigon Buffalo Team Secret
Summer 7 June 2022 - 4 September 2022 GAM Esports Saigon Buffalo Team Secret
2023 Spring 24 February 2023 – 23 April 2023 GAM Esports SBTC Esports CERBERUS Esports
Summer 23 June 2023 – 9 September 2023 GAM Esports Team Whales Team Secret
2024 Spring 20 January 2024 – 7 April 2024 GAM Esports Vikings Esports Team Secret
Summer 21 June 2024 – 18 August 2024 GAM Esports Vikings Esports Team Whales

Statistics

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Top-performing teams

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Team(s) 1st 2nd 3rd
GAM Esports 11 3 3
Saigon Buffalo 2 5 0
Saigon Jokers 2 1 1
Team Flash 2 0 2
EVOS Esports 1 1 2
Hanoi Fate 1 0 1
Cerberus Esports 1 0 0
Saigon Fantastic Five 1 0 0
XGame 1 0 0
Team Ozone Cutie Monsters 1 0 0
Full Louis 0 2 0
Team Whales 0 2 0
Vikings Esports 0 2 0
Team Secret 0 0 5

Individual awards

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Season MVP Standings

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Year Split Player Team Time/Points
2017 Spring Đỗ "Levi" Duy Khánh GIGABYTE Marines 400
Summer
2018 Spring Nguyễn "YiJin" Lê Hải Đăng EVOS Esports 900
Summer Phạm "Zeros" Minh Lộc Phong Vũ Buffalo 10
2019 Spring Phạm "Zeros" Minh Lộc Phong Vũ Buffalo 1100
Summer Đỗ "Levi" Duy Khánh
Nguyễn " YiJin " Lê Hải Đăng 		GAM Esports
Team Flash 		800
2020 Spring Lê "Dia1" Phú Quý GAM Esports 1100
Summer Lê "Dia1" Phú Quý GAM Esports 1000
2021 Spring Đỗ "Levi" Duy Khánh GAM Esports 1000
Winter Lê Lưu "Killerqueen" Bách Đạt Luxury Esports 11
2022 Spring Trần "BeanJ" Văn Chính Saigon Buffalo 1000

References

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  1. ^ "Vietnam is now an independent competitive region". lolesports.com. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Điều lệ DCSA". Liên Minh Huyền Thoại. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Họp báo công bố giải đấu VCS Mùa Xuân 2018".
  4. ^ "CHÍNH THỨC: Đội vô địch VCS Mùa Xuân 2018 sẽ được tăng 100 triệu đồng tiền thưởng!". Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  5. ^ Xu, Davide (28 March 2024). "Half the VCS ends up on the suspect list after investigation update". esports.net. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  6. ^ "VCS is again suspected of violating integrity rules". VPEsports. 18 March 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  7. ^ "NÓNG: Riot Games đưa ra thông báo quan trọng về việc quyết định xử phạt các đội tuyển VCS". GameTV (in Vietnamese). 3 June 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  8. ^ Bernado, Anna (29 September 2024). "Worlds 2024 Play-ins: MAD Lions, GAM Esports, paiN Gaming, and PSG Talon advance to Swiss Stage | GosuGamers". GosuGamers. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  9. ^ Tan, Amanda (3 November 2024). "All League of Legends Championship Pacific teams for 2025". ONE Esports. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  10. ^ a b "LMHT: Thể thức thi đấu VCSA Mùa Xuân 2018, vòng playoffs sẽ đánh như LCK Hàn Quốc". gamek.vn. 12 January 2018. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
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