League of Legends developer Riot Games has just announced a brand new competitive region for the game's esports scene, Vietnam, which will now have a guaranteed play-in slot for international competitions like the Mid-Season Invitational and Worlds.
"As a country ecosystem within a larger region, Vietnam has been dominant in its qualifying regional league, winning each of the last four splits of Southeast Asia's Garena Premier League (GPL). Additionally, Vietnam's competitive performance at international events like 2017's Mid-Season Invitational and Worlds makes them more performative than a majority of the 13 other regions that compete. When we combine these consistent achievements with Vietnam's mature competitive ecosystem and passionate player base, we think the time is right for them to compete as a unique individual region," Riot writes.
The Vietnamese league, or VCS, was part of the Southeast Asia region prior to this, competing for just one spot alongside the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand in the GPL, but now they won't have to compete with these other regions to get a place at international events, although the remaining leagues will continue to compete for a place at GPL.
Riot also revealed that the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) will now expand to be a tournament with 14 teams, and although Worlds will still feature 24 teams, an extra play-in slot for other regions will now be given straight to Vietnam.
Do you think Vietnam is worthy of its own region?