MVK Esports
Vietnamese League of Legends team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
MVK Esports is a Vietnamese professional League of Legends team competing in the League of Legends Championship Pacific. It was founded in 2016 as Young Generation and has since gone through several rebrands.[n 1] MVK previously competed in the Vietnam Championship Series (VCS), where the team was crowned champions twice. MVK has qualified for the World Championship in 2017,[1] 2018,[2] and 2022,[3] as well as the Mid-Season Invitational in 2019 and 2022.
| |
| Short name | MVK |
|---|---|
| Game | League of Legends |
| Founded | November 2016 |
| Based in | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam |
| Owner | Lê "SofM" Quang Duy |
| Head coach | Đặng "Bigkoro" Ngọc Tài |
| Manager | Nguyễn "Lily" Hoài Thương |
History
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 to EVOS Esports and one to GIGABYTE 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 the 2018 World Championship.[4][5]
Because of EVOS Esports' placement at the 2018 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, the Flash Wolves, and G2 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 the 2019 Mid-Season Invitational as 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 team 1907 Fenerbahçe, Australian team Bombers, and Argentine team Isurus 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 to Team Liquid.[12] This result forced Phong Vũ Buffalo to play in a third round against Vega 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 the Saigon Heat.[15]
In November 2022, the South Korean esports-focused think tank JUEGO signed a deal to acquire Saigon Buffalo,[16] but the deal fell through.
Saigon Buffalo was renamed Vikings Esports after the 2023 season.
The team rebranded as MVK Esports prior to the 2026 season.[17]
Current roster
| MVK Esports League of Legends roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Đặng "Bigkoro" Ngọc Tài | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Legend:
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Tournament results
| 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 (against Team WE) |
| 4th | VCS 2018 Spring | 8–6 |
| 4th | VCS 2018 Spring Playoffs | 1–3 (against GIGABYTE 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 (against EVOS Esports) |
| 6th | 2019 Mid-Season Invitational | 2–8 (main event) |
| 3rd | Rift Rivals 2019 LCK-LPL-LMS-VCS | 0–3 (against LPL) |
| 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 (against GAM 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 (against MAD Lions) |
Notes
- 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 (25 May 2020 – 25 November 2023)
- Viking Esports (25 November 2023 – 5 December 2024)
- MGN Viking Esports (5 December 2024 – 30 December 2025)
