After over two weeks of group stage and playoff action, a champion has finally been crowned at the Arena of Valor World Cup (AWC) 2019. The finals were held today and the home team, Vietnam, became world champions for the first time.
The team featuring Phạm “Gấu” Hồng Quân, Trần “ADC” Đức Chiến, Trần “XB” Xuân Bách, Đinh “ĐạtKòiii” Tiến Đạt, and Trần “ProE” Quang Hiệp took down Chinese Taipei 4-3 in a gut-wrenching final at the Tien Son Sports Arena in Da Nang, Vietnam. The series went all the way to game seven, causing the global ban pick draft rule to be lifted, so players could choose their strongest champions to provide a truly intense final match.
The role of junglers throughout the tournament was vital in deciding a team’s victory. This held true in the finals as well when Vietnam’s ADC took on Chinese Taipei’s Chang “Neil” Chun-Sheng in the jungle. But Neil wasn’t able to assert his dominance in the middle of the lanes during the final series since Vietnam was prepared to counter him.
Vietnam seemed to understand that the key to victory was taking down Neil and restricting his movements. They focused on Neil, who was unable to perform with his solo outplays like he usually does.
It was definitely a level playing field and no one could predict who was going to take the series. The teams went back-and-forth. Vietnam took the first, third, and fifth games, while Chinese Taipei won the second and fourth. Neil pulled off a sensational backdoor in the sixth game to ensure that the series went to a game seven.
The final game was relatively one-sided, however. Vietnam dominated the game, focusing on objectives and using aggressive plays while splitpushing. Chinese Taipei were on the defensive throughout the game, but they put up a good fight. In the end, Vietnam won with an ultimate by XB’s Maloch in the top lane to secure the teamfight and take home the trophy.
Vietnam earned $200,000 with this victory, while runners-up Chinese Taipei will pocket $110,000. As expected, Vietnam’s jungler: ADC was adjourned as the MVP of the tournament and won an additional $10,000. The third and fourth-placed teams, Vietnam Wildcards and Thailand Wildcards, will take home $50,000 each.
