VCS temporarily suspends 32 individuals following Spring 2024 integrity concerns

League of Legends’ Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) has temporarily suspended 32 individuals due to integrity concerns that have occurred during its Spring 2024 season.

As a result of the investigation, all remaining VCS Group Stage matches have been cancelled, while the Spring Finals have been postponed until further notice.

VCS is Vietnam’s professional League of Legends competition and offers team qualifications to major tournaments such as the Mid-Season Invitational and World Championship. Initially part of the Garena Premier League, VCS became an independent league in 2018 and became solely organised by Riot Games in 2023.

VCS Spring 2024 regular season matches were planned to continue on March 15th as normal, with Playoffs following soon after. However, VCS’ organisers issued a statement via social media, announcing that ‘due to unforeseen events affecting the tournament process’ the games had been postponed.

Three days later, VCS officials announced the indefinite delay of the current Spring season due to an investigation regarding the competitive integrity of VCS teams. Planned matches from March 18th onward were cancelled, and the Spring Finals were postponed indefinitely.

Furthermore, match results from March 14th were revoked. Instead, only results leading up to March 10th will determine Group Stage rankings and Playoff participation.

In a social media post from March 18th, translated via VCS English, the league’s organisers commented: “We understand that this is a really difficult decision to make in the middle of the tournament, but we are fully committed to always upholding transparency in the VCS and absolutely will not tolerate any actions that affect the competitive integrity.”

Following last week’s announcement, the VCS has now published a list of 32 individuals who have been temporarily suspended throughout the investigation.

The list includes members from all eight teams currently competing in the VCS, which includes the likes of Team Secret, Team Flash and GAM Esports. While additional data is being reviewed, the listed individuals are not allowed to participate in any Riot Games esports activities whilst suspended.

Additional information concerning the VCS Spring Finals is expected to follow shortly.

Following today’s update, VCS participant Team Whales suspended player contracts with Pearl ‘Gloryy’ Ngoc Vinh and Bare ‘BeanJ’ Literature due to ‘signs of violating rules’. Ngoc Vinh further commented on the suspension via Facebook, explaining that it was his decision to leave Team Whales to focus on providing proof of his competitive integrity.

Other VCS individuals have also addressed the league’s current situation. The English VCS community page on X (formerly Twitter) shared a statement from GAM Esports CEO TK Nguyen: “I want to express GAM Esports’ unwavering support for the VCS, VNG, and Riot Games…

“I stand firm in the integrity and dedication of our team throughout this season and am optimistic about the path forward.”

The full list of suspended players is as follows:

Cerberus Esports

GAM Esports

MGN Blue Esports

Rainbow Warriors

Team Flash

Team Secret

Team Whales

Vikings Esports