Long Live Levi: GAM Esports pulls off upset against TOP Esports in Group Stage

Day 7 of group Stage saw the teams in Group C either qualify for the Knockout Stage or bow out sadly from Worlds 2022. Korean 4th seed, DRX topped the group at 5 wins to 2 losses with Rogue close behind at 4 wins to 3 losses. The EU 1st seed started the groups at a 4-0 lead, however, losses to DRX and TOP Esports (TES) saw them fall in the table last night, still qualifying as in 2nd place.

GAM Esports and TES were both eliminated after fierce battles with the other teams in the group yesterday, however, their battle against each other was the true showstopper of the day.

Upsets and Masterful Plays

GAM Esports succeeded in pulling off an incredible upset against LPL 4th seed and powerhouse TES after a fierce fight, with many spectators calling it the ‘craziest game of Worlds 2022.’

Watching it live, spectators knew they were in for a treat when the VCS champions’ star player Đỗ “Levi” Duy Khánh pulled out a Karthus jungle, a first time pick for this year’s Worlds. Boasting a 100% winrate on the AP champion, “Levi” demonstrated a masterful display of Karthur jungle, as he managed to scale quickly thanks to 2 early picks from his team and tower plates funnelled over to him.

An early Mythic empowered Levi to make more proactive plays around the map with the looming threat of the Karthus R over TES.

Absolutely mental finish

With late game approaching, TES had a slight gold advantage, however, GAM had the advantage of greater scaling on their Karthus and Ornn. After securing Mountain Soul, GAM was in position to take the Elder Drake as well.

TES AD carry Yu “JackeyLove” Wen-Bo on the other hand, had other plans for that drake, pulling off the heist of the century on Lucian as he saved TES from losing the game. With GAM already low from the chip damage, TES would clean up the fight, securing 3 more picks to leave only GAM top laner Trần "Kiaya" Duy Sang alive to hold against the rampage of TES.

Against all odds, he would hold the line long enough for “Levi” to respawn and save the day with the Karthus ult, devastating TES in their tracks with seconds to spare on the Nexus. GAM would race down the midlane, with only jungler Gao “Tian” Tianliang left alive on the TES side. “Tian” and newly respawned support Ling “Mark” Xu could only watch as GAM snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

Bittersweet Worlds 2022

Sadly, that was the one victory GAM managed to secure during the Group Stage, meaning elimination for the first seed from Vietnam. Despite more heroics from “Levi” and midlaner Đặng "Kati" Thanh Phê, Rogue proved too difficult of a mountain to overcome, ending the Vietnamese roster’s run at Worlds 2022.

After two years of missing international events due to Covid-19, VCS fans waited with bated breath to see if their region had maintained its competitiveness on the international stage. Whilst the overall performance of the region has been decent throughout the event, the win over TES did re-ignite the passion in many fans for the region.

Image credit: Lance Skundrich/ Riot Games