Vikings Esports
 | |
| Game | League of Legends |
|---|---|
| Founded | November 2016 |
| Folded | 25 November 2023 |
| Based in | Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam |
| Head coach | Nguyễn "Ren" Văn Trọng |
| General manager | Nguyễn "Grandon" Vũ Đôn |
| Partners |
|
| Website | www |
Vikings Esports[n 1]is a Vietnamese professionalLeague of Legendsteam competing in theVietnam Championship Series(VCS). It was founded in 2016 asYoung Generation.The team was crowned VCS champions twice, and qualified for theWorld Championshipin2017,[1]2018,[2]and2022,[3]as well as theMid-Season Invitationalin2019and2022.Vikings Gaming acquired and rebranded the team fromSaigon Buffaloto Viking Esports in 2023.
History
[edit] | This section needs to beupdated.(April 2022) |
On 18 May 2018, Young Generation rebranded to Phong Vũ Buffalo after agreeing to a sponsorship deal with Phong Vũ, a major computer company in Vietnam. The team dominated in its first split in the VCS, losing only one series toEVOS Esportsand one toGIGABYTE Marines,ending with a series record of 12 wins and 2 losses in the 2018 VCS Summer Split. This placement secured them a spot in finals of the VCS 2018 Summer Playoffs, where they defeated Cube Adonis 3–1 and qualified for the2018 World Championship.[4][5]
Because of EVOS Esports' placement at the2018 Mid-Season Invitational,Vietnam was given a spot in the main event at the 2018 League of Legends World Championship,[6]allowing Phong Vũ Buffalo to avoid the need to qualify through the play-in stage. For the group stage, Phong Vũ Buffalo was drawn into Group A, along with the Afreeca Freecs, theFlash Wolves,andG2 Esports.[7]The team ended the group stage with 2 win and 4 losses, failing to qualify for the knockout stage.[8]
Phong Vũ Buffalo placed 1st in the 2019 VCS Spring Split regular season, with a record of 13 wins and 1 loss. This directly qualified the team for the finals, where they defeated EVOS Esports 3–1 to qualify for the2019 Mid-Season Invitationalas Vietnam's representative.
Phong Vũ Buffalo was placed in Group A of the first round of the 2019 Mid-Season Invitational play-in stage, along with Turkish team1907 Fenerbahçe,Australian teamBombers,and Argentine teamIsurus Gaming.[9][10]The team ended the group round robin with a record of 4 wins and 2 losses, tying 1907 Fenerbahçe for 1st and forcing a tiebreaker match, which 1907 Fenerbahçe lost. Phong Vũ Buffalo's victory qualified them for the second round of the play-in stage,[11]where they lost 0–3 toTeam Liquid.[12]This result forced Phong Vũ Buffalo to play in a third round againstVega Squadron,who they defeated 3–2 in a close series, securing themselves a spot in the main event.[13]Phong Vũ Buffalo placed last in the group stage of the main event with a 2–8 record, failing to advance to the knock-out stage.
On 31 May 2019, the organization announced it was renaming to Dashing Buffalo to reflect a change in its sponsorship, with Dashing Shampoo becoming its primary sponsor.[14]
Dashing Buffalo renamed to Saigon Buffalo on 26 May 2020 to reflect its partnership with theSaigon Heat.[15]
In November 2022, the South Korean esports-focusedthink tankJUEGO signed a deal to acquire Saigon Buffalo,[16]but the deal fell through.
Saigon Buffalo was renamed to Vikings Esports after the 2023 season.
Current roster
[edit]| Vikings EsportsLeague of Legendsroster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nguyễn "Ren" Văn Trọng
Trần "Ciel" Tiến Thịnh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Legend:
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Tournament results
[edit]| Placement | Event | Final result (W–L) |
|---|---|---|
| Qualified | VCS A 2017 Spring Promotion | 2–0 (against Cherry Gaming) |
| 2nd | VCS A 2017 Spring | 10–2 |
| 2nd | VCS A 2017 Spring Playoffs | 0–3 |
| 2nd | VCS A 2017 Summer | 10–4 |
| 2nd | VCS A 2017 Summer Playoffs | 0–3 |
| 2nd | GPL 2017 Summer | 3–2 (against Ascension Gaming) |
| 17th–20th | 2017 World Championship | 0–3 (againstTeam WE) |
| 4th | VCS 2018 Spring | 8–6 |
| 4th | VCS 2018 Spring Playoffs | 1–3 (againstGIGABYTE Marines) |
| 1st | VCS 2018 Summer | 12–2 |
| 1st | VCS 2018 Summer Playoffs | 3–1 (against Cube Adonis) |
| 13th–16th | 2018 World Championship | 2–4 |
| 1st | VCS 2019 Spring | 13–1 |
| 1st | VCS 2019 Spring Playoffs | 3–1 (againstEVOS Esports) |
| 6th | 2019 Mid-Season Invitational | 2–8 (main event) |
| 3rd | Rift Rivals 2019 LCK-LPL-LMS-VCS | 0–3 (againstLPL) |
| 4th | VCS 2019 Summer | 8–6 |
| 4th | VCS 2019 Summer Playoffs | 0–3 (against Lowkey Esports) |
| 6th | VCS 2020 Spring | 5–9 |
| 2nd | 2020 Pulsefire Cup | 1–3 (againstGAM Esports) |
| 7th | VCS 2020 Summer | 3–11 |
| Qualified | VCS 2021 Spring Promotion | 3–1 (against V Gaming) |
| 2nd | VCS 2021 Spring | 10–4 |
| 2nd | VCS 2021 Spring Playoffs | 1–3 (against GAM Esports) |
| 5th | VCS 2021 Winter | 6–8 |
| 2nd | 31st SEA Games,Vietnam qualifier | 1–3 (against GAM Esports) |
| 2nd | VCS 2022 Spring | 9–5 |
| 2nd | VCS 2022 Spring Playoffs | 1–3 (against GAM Esports) |
| 6th | 2022 Mid-Season Invitational | 2–8 |
| 3rd | VCS 2022 Summer | 8–6 |
| 2nd | VCS 2022 Summer Playoffs | 0–3 (against GAM Esports) |
| 19–20th | 2022 World Championship | 1–3 (againstMAD Lions) |
Notes
[edit]- ^Formerly known as:
- Young Generation(November 2016 – 18 May 2018)
- Phong Vũ Buffalo(18 May 2018 – 31 May 2019)
- Dashing Buffalo(31 May 2019 – 25 May 2020)
- Saigon Buffalo
References
[edit]- ^"Young Generation | LoL Esports".lolesports.LoL Esports.Retrieved13 October2018.
- ^"Worlds 2018: Meet the Teams".na.leagueoflegends.LoL Esports.Retrieved13 October2018.
- ^Kelly, Michael (31 August 2022)."Saigon Buffalo become first team from Vietnam to qualify for League Worlds since 2019".Dot Esports.Retrieved31 August2022.
- ^"2018 World Championship group draw results".cybersport.Cybersport.Retrieved13 October2018.
- ^"PVB, G-Rex qualify for World Championship".Gwinnett Prep Sports.Retrieved13 October2018.
- ^"World Championship 2018 | About".lolesports.LoL Esports.Retrieved13 October2018.
- ^Erzberger, Tyler (14 October 2018)."Phong Vũ Buffalo's Naul: '[We can] get out of groups'".ESPN.Retrieved15 October2018.
- ^Chouadria, Adel (15 October 2018)."Phong Vu Buffalo blow Worlds 2018 Group A open despite elimination".cybersport.Retrieved15 October2018.
- ^Amos, Andrew (23 April 2019)."Here are the groups for the MSI 2019 play-in stage".Dot Esports.Retrieved29 April2019.
- ^Ridgely, Brandon (28 April 2019)."MSI 2019 Play-In Stage breakdown: Group A".RealSport.Retrieved29 September2019.
- ^Leckie-Zaharic, Alex; Li, Xing (2 May 2019)."Phong Vũ Buffalo win Group A and advance to face Team Liquid at MSI 2019".Dot Esports.Retrieved3 May2019.
- ^Esguerra, Tyler (6 May 2019)."Impact and Jensen lead Team Liquid to a convincing sweep over Phong Vũ Buffalo at MSI 2019".Dot Esports.Retrieved7 May2019.
- ^Leckie-Zaharic, Alex (7 May 2019)."Phong Vũ Buffalo downs Vega Squadron to head to the MSI group stage".Dot Esports.Retrieved7 May2019.
- ^"Dashing Buffalo's Facebook post".facebook.Dashing Buffalo.Retrieved6 June2019.
- ^Hưng, Thành (26 May 2020)."Dashing Bufffalo thay đổi tên trước mùa giải mới: Saigon Buffalo".Webthethao(in Vietnamese).Retrieved26 May2020.
- ^Šimić, Ivan (30 November 2022)."League of Legends team Saigon Buffalo finds new owners".Esports Insider.Retrieved30 November2022.
