League of Legends: Vietnam Championship Series Reportedly Cancels Summer Split
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League of Legends’ Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) is not going to host its 2021 Summer Split according to a report by South Korean media outlet Naver Sports. Even though the split will might not take place, the region will still reportedly be represented at the League of Legends World Championship this year. There has been a lot of uncertainty around the VCS since June 2021 and with the country going through yet another lockdown due to COVID-19, the series is being called off.
VCS Summer Split Reportedly Cancelled
The VCS Summer Split was delayed in June 2021 due to the rising COVID-19 cases and in July 2021, the Vietnamese government extended the lockdown in Ho Chi Minh City and 19 other cities and provinces. Despite being successful at containing the pandemic, Vietnam faced a rise in infections and there is no word on when League of Legends’ esports events will continue normally in the region. With too many delays in hosting the Summer Split, VCS will not have enough time to catch up with other regions. There has not been a single official pro match since the 2021 Sprint Split and it remains to be seen when things will go back to normalcy in the country.
The report by Naver Sports states that the VCS did not receive a license to hold an online competition due to contractual issues between Riot Games and Vietnam’s League of Legends publisher Garena. Both parties were unable to come to a solution to host the event.
This is not the first time that Vietnam has been unable to send teams for international League of Legends events. Vietnamese fans missed out on watching their favorite local players compete in Worlds 2020 and the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational, due to travel restrictions that were in place at the time. According to a report by Korea Herald in April, Riot operations director, Tom Martell said, “We explored numerous solutions that would allow the VCS team to compete in Iceland, but we were unable to find a way to make this happen.”
However, the VCS can send its 2021 Spring Split champions GAM Esports to Worlds 2021. Saigon Buffalo, the runners-up from the same season, is also eligible to be sent to the event. VCS has time until October to prepare its teams for Worlds in October and it remains to be seen if the pandemic situation in Vietnam gets better and allows VCS players to compete.
