On August 14th, VNGGames and Riot Games officially signed a partnership to develop the League of Legends eSports (LoL eSports) plan for 2025, and shared important details about the Summer 2024 Vietnam Championship Series (VCS 2024 Summer) finals.
Specifically, the two parties aim to create a League of Legends tournament on a pan-Asia-Pacific scale, featuring top teams from the region, including Vietnam. The goal of this tournament is to introduce a new inter-regional battleground for the most talented players, offering diverse and spectacular matches, and creating fresh competitive experiences. This will be one of the top five tournaments in the near future, with a total of 8 teams and a promotion-relegation format.
"VNGGames has been our long-time partner in publishing products and organizing eSports events for Riot Games’ titles since 2020. In 2025, VNGGames will continue to provide League of Legends eSports experiences with a distinct Vietnamese cultural identity for fans, while promoting the new APAC tournament to the community. Additionally, VNGGames will bring unique eSports content to cater to the information and entertainment needs of the audience,” said Ban Chee, Director of VCS.
Meanwhile, the VCS 2024 Summer finals took place on August 17th and 18th with the theme “Forever We Stand.” This year’s finals were held live for the first time in 5 years, due to previous online events caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The VCS 2024 Summer finals were highly praised for both investment level and meticulous organization.
According to the organizers, this year's event attracted over 2,000 spectators to watch and support the teams. After an intense competition among the teams GAM Esports, Viking Esports, and Team Whales, the team GAM Esports was crowned as the champion. Additionally, the teams Vikings Esports and Team Whales will represent VCS Summer 2024 at the upcoming World Championship 2024.
Laura Li, Riot Games' Director of eSports for the Asia-Pacific region, stated: “We hope the VCS 2024 Summer finals will mark a new beginning for eSports in Vietnam. We can expect to see VCS representatives competing with the best teams from across the Asia-Pacific region in a new arena. In the coming years, we hope that eSports will become the number one sport and entertainment in Vietnam. Vietnamese players will gain a large fan base worldwide, and the younger generation in Vietnam will find new career paths that make them and their families proud.”
According to Laura Li, Riot Games’ current priority for the Asia-Pacific region is to continue developing Vietnam's eSports market, bringing top Vietnamese athletes and teams to the international stage. Additionally, Riot Games is seeking opportunities to bring the most exciting eSports tournaments to Vietnamese audiences.