Spectacular but controversial event, what do the organizers say?

VPBank Presents T1 in Vietnam: The Promise Fulfilled Taking place on December 20 and 21 in Hanoi, it was not only an Esports event but it was just like the largest “off-fan” festival in Vietnam, including LoL fans, T1 fans, fans of Vietnamese All Star players… Therefore, besides the moments that made fans burst into tears when meeting the entire legendary squad of T1 esports for the first time, the event also became the center of debate about the program script and organization. and feelings of regret for the team of Vietnamese All-Star players. Faced with mixed feedback, VPBank has accepted responsibility and clarified some false information spread online.

The most “spectacular” eSports event in Vietnam

First of all, it cannot be denied VPBank Presents T1 in Vietnam: The Promise Fulfilled created a fever among gamers when this bank brought the entire T1 squad to Vietnam for the first time to hold a fan meeting. For fans, T1 is not simply a team, T1 is a popular culture symbol of League of Legends (LMHT), where player images, victory stories and team identity are followed by millions of Vietnamese gamers every day. Besides, the appearance of the entire T1 squad in Vietnam is also an implicit affirmation that Vietnam is capable of becoming a global eSports destination.

Second, the program was festivalized. Instead of just setting up a stage for T1 to interact with fans, the organizers turned the event into an e-sports festival for the community with many activities such as showmatch, cosplay, cup display area, experience – interaction area, fan spaces… The series of events was also held for two consecutive days, creating a new, complete and epic emotional journey for the community. This fits with the specifics of eSports fandom: they don’t come just to watch a match, they come to live the experience – meet their idols, meet a community on the same frequency, preserve memories and create personal content.

Third, the program shows the potential to exploit the culture of eSports in Vietnam. When an event can attract a large audience, create a large amount of discussion and interest many public groups (hardcore fans, general audiences…), eSports has stepped out of the “niche” file to become a mass entertainment product. However, because of the “niche”, this market needs more specific approaches such as: the expectations and desires of the eSports audience, organizational standards have their own requirements.

Finally, in terms of symbolism, the idea of ​​a historic showmatch of a Vietnamese All-Star squad competing with 6-time world champion T1 is a very weighty choice. The organizers chose the All-Star Vietnam squad, which are top names from many generations in the League of Legends world such as Teacher Ba, Archie, Levi, SofM and Kiaya and placed them alongside the world champions, giving a proud message about Vietnamese eSports.

Controversies broke out backstage

However, the event was explosive but also brought with it a lot of debate, in which the biggest topic focused on the fact that many spectators felt that the Vietnamese All-Star was not placed in a position worthy of their status in an event held at home. One of the key points was that the organizers did not arrange for the players to interact or shake hands with T1 on stage.

In addition, an eSports event is different from a concert in that it has a competitive element. If concerts are usually a direct interaction between the “star” and the audience, then eSports will be an interaction between two teams and the audience enjoys that interaction. So in the story of organizing eSports events, teams are always the center with their own “cultures”, which if the organizers do not have experience, when “breaking the law” will easily cause the audience to react. And this happened.

The wave of complaints and booing also revolved around other content such as the wrong name of player Peyz when introducing and welcoming him on stage; The food and drinks at the stalls do not meet the needs, the cameras are criticized for being ungainly for an eSports event, often taking too many pictures of the audience when what they need are the moments and activities of the players…

Social networks immediately became a “fireplace” for the fan community to vent their anger. There are valid and constructive opinions, but there is also no shortage of extreme inferences from the angry crowd, causing controversies to often stray far from their original nature.

Besides, it is necessary to recognize the characteristics of the gaming community in general and League of Legends fans in particular, which is an audience group with a high level of emotional outbursts and a very direct response style. It is this characteristic that makes post-event feedback easily “amplified” in both speed and intensity, sometimes causing shock to non-believers.

VPBank officially spoke up

In response to mixed feedback, the BTC representative accepted responsibility for the lack of expertise and sophistication in some arrangements and operations of a 2-day esports festival program with many diverse activities, while also admitting limited experience when organizing a large-scale and highly complex eSports event for the first time.

“This is the first time we are exploring the field of eSports with a huge “topic” of bringing the world’s most legendary team T1 to Vietnam in an event with a scale of nearly 20,000 people in two days, especially day 2 with the team competing and interacting continuously for 7 hours on stage, so there were inevitable shortcomings in the organization. We sincerely apologize to the All-Star Vietnam players, the Four Hung team, and the participating audiences. participating with bad experiences. The organizers affirm that they absolutely respect the players and appreciate the opportunity to accompany everyone, from the players, casters, MCs and audiences in this event.”… VPBank representative shared.

The organizers also said that they have listened and recorded all feedback from the community, especially the contributions and constructive comments of the T1 fan community, and quickly fixed it within the ability of the organizers. “We always listen and proactively change and adjust as much as possible to bring better experiences.”

At the same time, the Organizing Committee also officially discussed some inaccurate information that was spread. The Organizing Committee affirms that there is no refusal to pay expenses for players participating in the showmatch as shown in some posts, fair treatment of fandoms, and absolutely no policy of profiteering from event-related items. According to the Organizing Committee, this information comes from misunderstanding, inference, collage or communication out of context.

Looking more broadly, VPBank Presents T1 in Vietnam: The Promise Fulfilled is not only a memorable milestone, but also a big test for a brand that is organizing a large-scale eSports event for the first time in Vietnam. In the context that eSports is a field with completely different operating characteristics than traditional entertainment events, “breaking cards” at some touch points of audience experience is possible.

Opening a new market inevitably comes with risks, controversies and requires a lot of effort to improve. If the experiences from this event are taken seriously with the demand, dedication and proper investment from big brands, Vietnamese eSports can completely enter a new stage of development – where events become more numerous, more quality and build sustainable trust from the community.