MLBB: Saigon Phantom Defeats The Vicious, Securing the Opportunity to Represent Vietnam in Esports at ASIAD 2026

Last weekend, the Grand Finals of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Vietnam National Team Selection Tournament for Men took place, a highly exciting match between Saigon Phantom and The Vicious.

A tense confrontation between Saigon Phantom and The Vicious

On March 29th, the Vietnamese National Team Selection Round for the 2026 Asian Games, in both the Men's and Women's Team events, officially concluded. In the Men's Team event, Saigon Phantom (SGP) and The Vicious (VIC) delivered an extremely exciting best-of-seven (BO7) match. Throughout the first two games of the Grand Finals, SGP consistently demonstrated superiority over their opponent, leading impressively 2-0.

In the crucial match, VIC had a better start, consistently securing early kills and pushing down two outer towers as early as the 6th minute. By the 10th minute, VIC had taken the Lord to gain the upper hand. However, it wasn't until the 14th minute that they secured the victory to keep their hopes alive. In game 4, VIC had more kills after a chaotic team fight at the Turtle Lair, even though SGP secured the buff. After several notable skirmishes, VIC maintained their advantage, but SGP unexpectedly counter-attacked at the 8th minute and secured two kills.

Both sides continuously exchanged kills until the decisive team fight at the 10th minute in the Lord's Lair area . SGP Meow  charged in to stop the opponent, but unfortunately couldn't prevent VIC from taking  the Lord.  The remaining members of SGP, in an attempt to engage the enemy when they saw their opponents were low on health, were hit by a fatal counterattack.

Almost immediately, Hide and Daylight fell, and the rest quickly followed suit. Despite being wiped out, SGP managed a successful defense after their members respawned. 

At minute 12, SGP attempted to take down VIC's mid laner  , Hehehehehehehe  , but  HHN  became the primary damage dealer with a devastating Triple-Kill. With only  Joww remaining, SGP  couldn't prevent VIC from closing in and leveling the score at 2-2.

Saigon Phantom demonstrates its prowess, securing a ticket to ASIAD 2026.

Entering game 5, SGP regained their confidence and completely dominated VIC within the first 6 minutes. VIC's attempts to pick off isolated targets consistently cost them their advantage, and it was no surprise that SGP only needed 12 minutes to secure the crucial victory.

Game six saw SGP gain the advantage as they secured the Turtle and three kills after eliminating Meow, who had also just claimed First Blood. VIC performed better at the second Turtle, with Revenge securing the Turtle and Taku taking down Meow, despite losing their bottom lane turret due to SGP Daylight's push.

The two teams remained evenly matched for a while until the arrival of the second Turtle God. SGP's Joww  shone with his Triple-Kill, giving his team a huge advantage. A skirmish broke out at 8:35 when VIC attempted to catch SGP's support, Gnart. They took him down but lost Taku in the process. Joww's performance escalated, becoming SGP's primary damage dealer, helping them finish the Grand Finals series at 15 minutes with a gold advantage of nearly 8,000. He himself remained unkilled.

A 4-2 victory secured Saigon Phantom's championship title in the Qualifying Round, opening the door to the opportunity to participate in the Men's Team event of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Esports competition at the 2026 Asian Games. On the Women's Team side, Twisted Minds became champions after a convincing 4-0 victory over Navy Blue. Their performance will provide a basis for their members to increase their chances of participating in the Asian Championship.

The esports events of the 2026 Asian Games will take place from September 23rd to October 2nd in Aichi, Japan. Let's look forward to the announcement of the qualifying rounds for the remaining disciplines in the near future to cheer on all participating teams.