Fr legends how to win battles

Zeros made headlines recently after he was banned from all League of Legends (LoL) competitions in Vietnam by Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) for stating he hoped the Covid-19 pandemic in Vietnam would grow worse via his stream.

But it seems like dark days are not quite over for Zeros. Rumors have it the 21-year-old pro player might switch to playing Wild Rift, a modified version of LoL. However, Nguyen Tran Son, director of GS3 – VNG, the publisher of Wild Rift in Vietnam, refuted the information.

“Riot Games gave Zeros a global ban and it’s applied to all esports games of this publisher. Therefore, the chance of Zeros competing in Wild Rift is literally ‘zero’,” Son said.

Zeros will also not be allowed to compete professionally in other Riot games, including the free-to-play hero shooter Valorant or collectible card game Legends of Runeterra.

This is one of the heaviest punishments Riot Games has given to a pro player.

Earlier this month, Zeros said on his stream: “I hope the pandemic would get worse so Vietnam could not attend the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) tournament.”

The statement was made after his team SBTC eSports lost the chance to compete for the national championship since the team had placed outside the top four by the end of the group stage.

MSI is the second biggest LoL tournament of the year (after World Championship), with the participation of champions from all regions. The MSI 2021 will be held from May 6 to 22 in Iceland.

Shortly after VCS’s national ban, Zeros was also fired by his team SBTC eSports.

Zeros, 21, has played for many strong LoL teams in Vietnam and won three national championships. He also took part in MSI and World Championship before. During his career, Zeros has been fined by VCS many times for his inappropriate acts.

If Zeros wants to continue his career as a pro gamer, he would have no choice but to play for a team abroad that specializes in esports games other than Riot’s.

LoL is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game launched in 2009. Players control a ‘champion’ with special abilities and battle against a team of other players or AI-controlled champions in a pre-defined arena. The goal is to destroy the other team’s ‘nexus,’ a structure located at the heart of base which is protected by other defensive structures.

The game is a hit in Vietnam, and its teams have risen in global prominence.

The organizers of Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) made a decision to suspend Zeros, a member of the SBTC eSports gaming team, on Monday.

“Realizing how serious the situation was, especially in the current pandemic, the organizers decided to permanently ban Zeros from VCS. The decision will take effect immediately,” VCS wrote on their website.

Shortly after receiving the punishment from VCS, Zeros, a three-time LoL national champion, was also fired by SBTC eSports.

Zeros had violated the regulations of VCS by making inappropriate statements regarding VCS, Riot (game publisher) and League of Legends.

Previously, in a livestream, Zeros had said: “I hope the pandemic would get worse so Vietnam could not attend the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) tournament.”

MSI is the second biggest LoL tournament of the year, with the participation of champions from all regions. The MSI 2021 will be held from May 6 to 22 in Iceland.

The statement was made after SBTC eSports lost the chance to compete for the national championship since the team had placed outside the top four by the end of the group stage.

In 2020, MSI was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. During LoL World Championship 2020, two Vietnamese teams, GAM eSports and Team Flash, could not travel to China for the same reason.

The VCS decision has created two streams of opinion on social media. Most considered the penalty suitable, while some saw it as severe.

If Zeros wants to continue his professional career, he must play for a team abroad. In the past, he had an agreement to join a Chinese team. However, due to Covid-19, the deal was off.

Zeros, 21, has played for many strong LoL teams in Vietnam and won three national championships. He also took part in MSI and World Championship before. During his career, Zeros has been fined by VCS many times for his inappropriate acts.

LoL is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game launched in 2009. Players control a ‘champion’ with special abilities and battle against a team of other players or AI-controlled champions in a pre-defined arena. The goal is to destroy the other team’s ‘nexus,’ a structure located at the heart of base which is protected by other defensive structures. The game is a hit in Vietnam, and its teams have risen in global prominence.

Victory moved Liverpool above Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United and left them only two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea who were thrashed at home by West Bromwich Albion earlier, throwing the top-four battle wide open. Liverpool have 49 points from 30 games with Arsenal down in ninth place with 42 points after a 12th defeat of the season.

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Vũ Thành An (right) competes at the 30th SEA Games in the Philippines in 2019. An is hoping to win an Olympic berth at the AsianQualifying Tournament later this month in Uzbekistan. Phototinmientrung.com

The fencers are aiming for one or two slots at the event, half of the figure of the previous Games. However, even that may be a tall order.

All eyes are on Vũ Thành An, who stands the best chance of being on the plane to Tokyo.

Per Olympic rules, Asia’s top three fencers will qualify. An is currently in the top three and close to the point threshold to be second and automatically qualify. If he could have competed in at least five events in 2020 he would already have qualified, according to his coaches.

But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, An competed in only four and unexpectedly missed the recent World Cup in Hungary, the last competition with points on offer.

“An was No 3 in Asia in the March rankings. We were full of hope that he could lift his position up and advance to the Olympics because many powerful athletes did not compete at the Hungarian tournament as they had already won their slots. But he could not compete because of difficulties in visa procedures for Hungary in this COVID-19 situation,” said national head coach Phạm Anh Tuấn.

“Not participating meant that we lost our best chance.”

An’s last opportunity to make his second Olympics is at the Asian zone qualifying round in Uzbekistan later this month.

He will leave for the event on April 20 with five other teammates and coaches.

There will be six individual categories at the April 25-26 event and only the champion of each event will go to Tokyo.

Coach Tuấn said An (sabre) and veteran Olympian Nguyễn Tiến Nhật (epee) only had about a 10 per cent chance of winning in Uzbekistan.

“Although the tournament is for countries that do not yet have representatives at the Olympics, it is still really tough for us,” said Tuấn.

“For example, in An’s pool, there are no powerhouses from South Korea, Japan, Iran and China, but he will face at least six title candidates from Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, Australia, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and the hosts.

“As it is also the last chance for all, everyone is determined and will try as hard as we can.”

An is in his last stage of preparations for the event in Tashkent.

“The COVID-19 pandemic and long-term knee and ankle injuries have prevented me from carrying out many activities,” An told Việt Nam News.

“No intensive training or tournaments made my technique, tactics and competition feeling not as sharp as necessary. It will definitely affect my performance but it is only one of many challenges that I will have to overcome for the best result,” he said.

“Being considered the most likely fencer to take an Olympic slot is also pressure on my shoulders. But, I have become gradually familiar with the feeling after many years in fencing,” said An, the two-time Asian bronze medal winner.

Despite the odds being stacked against him, the four-time Southeast Asian Games champion was confident that he would succeed.

“We have had a new foreign expert coach for more than one year. He has brought a breath of fresh air to the team. We have learnt many new things from him. I hope that I can apply them in the coming matches,” the 27-year-old said.

An, who defended his national titles last November, said he does not know how many athletes will take part in his category but guessed that to reach the final he would fence in at least four matches.

“We know it will be tough but I am always encouraged and determined. And I also believe in my ability. I will take my slot, and things will go that way,” he said.

Việt Nam has dominated Southeast Asian Games fencing since 2011. They pocketed an individual epee bronze at the Asian Games in 2014 in South Korea two years before An’s Asian championship bronzes.

Vietnamese fencers first qualified for the Olympics in 2012 in London. Four years later, there were four representatives in both men’s and women’s classes in Rio de Janeiro. VNS

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