Buzz
As the Winter Split of VCS is drawing to a close, the 2022 season will see the comeback of the talented Marksman - Slayder.
The Winter Split of VCS 2021 is reaching its final stages. At present, the two strongest contenders for the championship are undoubtedly CERBERUS Esports and GAM Esports. Among them, 'Cerberus' is currently unstoppable with 12 consecutive victories. They defeated the reigning VCS Spring 2021 champions, GAM, in the 'Super Classic' match of VCS Winter 2021 with a total score of 2-0 on December 12th.
As the VCS Winter concludes, the Vietnamese League of Legends community will officially welcome back the Marksman Slayder in the upcoming 2022 season. The former Team Secret player had to put his dreams of playing abroad on hold after failing to find a suitable destination. However, in the VCS, Slayder remains a high-quality Marksman. So, if he were to return, where would be the best destination for this player?
CERBERUS Esports
This seems to be the most 'impossible' destination as Artemis is currently in excellent form and has been with 'Cerberus' for a long time. CES is one of the teams that has had almost no changes in personnel since the Spring Split 2021. Perhaps the only change at this point is that the import player Kim 'Poss' Min-cheol may now be able to play alongside his teammates.
But the chance for Slayder to join Cerberus is almost 0. In terms of talent, he may not be inferior, sometimes even stronger than Artemis. However, Slayder definitely does not synergize well with RonOP in particular, and the entire CES team in general, as much as with Artemis. Even Poss, in his debut match, communication barriers almost turned Poss's debut into a regrettable one for CES. Therefore, CES surely does not want to take risks. Moreover, Artemis is at the peak of his career, and having him or Slayder on the bench would be a waste.
GAM Esports
Joining GAM would be ideal for Slayder as, like CES, GAM has a balanced lineup in all positions. Especially, in both domestic tournaments that GAM participated in this 2021 season, the yellow-black team has introduced a new Marksman. In Spring, they had Sty1e, while in Winter, they brought in Divkid from Team Flash.
If Slayder joins GAM, he won't have to worry about titles, and it's very likely that he will be a perfect fit for GAM. In this Winter Split, Divkid and Sty1e haven't fully peaked yet, causing GAM difficulties in many matches. Like the two losses to CES or when facing Burst The Sky Esports, GAM's Marksmen haven't performed as expected by their fans.
But both Sty1e and Divkid were only recruited in the 2021 season. Surely, GAM's management will not want their lineup to be constantly disrupted. Moreover, Slayder is a player who needs resources. In GAM's lineup, the ability to carry the team of the players is almost equal, and Kiaya or Kati, Levi also need resources. Therefore, Slayder will hardly have the opportunity to be 'taken care of' by the team as he used to be at TF or TS if he joins GAM.
SBTC Esports
At present, SE no longer has the autonomy to decide on a playoff spot. Furthermore, with a lineup consisting of too many young players, SE is certainly not a contender for titles at the moment. Thus, the factor of 'being able to compete for titles' is currently not met, making Slayder's move to SE unlikely.
Secondly, on the matchday of 12/12, SE also suffered a heavy defeat against SKY. However, team manager Cao Le Tuan Tu has affirmed that he will continue to invest in the team in the new season. But he also does not forget to prevent Celebrity when this player intends to retire. Thus, Celebrity will still be the flagship of SE. And certainly, Slayder will not join a team to sit on the bench or rotate in.
Team Secret
'The old home' TS has also completely changed its lineup, and now, DNK is the flagship, the team captain. And the fact has proven that TS has no star other than DNK who can decline. From the 3rd place team in Spring 2021, defeating even CES, now, TS has been eliminated from playoffs even when the group stage has not yet ended.
Returning to TS, Slayder may become the second name alongside DNK to carry the team rather than competing for titles as he did in Spring 2021. Unless the TS owners recruit new stars, but at the moment there are hardly any stars in the form of free agents for TS to bring in.
Team Flash
This is perhaps one of the most feasible destinations for Slayder. TF still has talented players like Yoshino, Palette. At TF, Slayder will definitely play regularly and he will reunite with the talented Support Palette to form an extremely strong bot lane duo in VCS as before. This duo has contributed significantly to TF's success, from the Summer 2019 Split to the entire 2020 season.
At present, Slayder will be 'nurtured' at TF, will be given resources, but the ability to compete for titles with Slayder is quite difficult. TF no longer has players like Kati or Naul, and Yoshino himself is inconsistent. The jungle position also lacks Yijin, not to mention Meliodas. Therefore, Slayder must understand that if he wants to win titles in the case of joining TF, he must play at more than 200% of his capacity and hope that his teammates also do the same.
