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Holding the Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) 2021 title, GAM Esports have earned themselves a spot at MSI 2021. However, LoL publisher and MSI organizer Riot Games confirmed GAM would not be able to compete in the tournament due to Covid-19 travel restrictions in Vietnam.
"The Mid-Season Invitational is just around the corner, and we are excited for teams from all over the globe to come together to compete in Reykjavik, Iceland starting May 6, 2021. While it was our hope that the top team from each of our 12 regions would be able to join us, due to national travel restrictions related to Covid-19, the team from Vietnam (VCS) will unfortunately not be able to participate," Riot Games stated.
MSI 2021 will be the second consecutive international LoL tournament missed by VCS. Last year, the country’s representatives also missed World Championship due to pandemic travel restrictions in the country.
"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. We are deeply disappointed to have to continue without one of our most passionate leagues. Although it will not replace the experience for them, we will be awarding the team their full share of the prize pool as though they had participated in the event," Riot Games wrote.
GAM were scheduled to compete in group A of MSI with three other teams.
With 32 wins and only seven losses in regional play, GAM could have easily been a title contender at MSI. The last international LoL tournament they had played was World Championship 2019.
MSI 2021 will start on May 6 in Iceland. No other teams are expected to miss the event.
It is expected that in September this year, when Vietnam plans to resume international flights, GAM as well as other VCS representatives would have the opportunity to participate in the World Championship.
