If you missed Vietnam and the surprise picks they bring to international tournaments, Saigon Buffalo is back for you! Although they couldn’t defeat T1, they managed to make it out of the group stage and participate in the Rumble Stage of MSI 2022. Saigon Buffalo will face five tough teams from all over the world, but they will always have a chance of getting the win.
Saigon Buffalo are not the strongest team Vietnam could send to MSI, but SEA Games 31 is being played the same time as this tournament and Vietnam’s champion went there to represent their country, while the runner-up Saigon Buffalo participate in MSI 2022. Even though they aren’t the number one team from VN, it is great to see a Vietnamese team on the international stage since their last show-up was at Worlds 2019.
They aren’t the champions of Vietnam but they were good
While GAM Esports were dominating the Vietnamese scene, Saigon Buffalo were one of the two teams following them closely. GAM went 14-0 during the regular season and Saigon Buffalo and Team Secret were 9-5. After Team Secret defeated CERBERUS on the first series of the playoffs, they faced Saigon Buffalo in an amazing five-game long series which ended in favor of SGB.
Saigon Buffalo then faced GAM Esports in the grand final where they were defeated 3-1. GAM really was ahead of every team in VCS, but they couldn’t attend MSI 2022 so the next best team went there, Saigon Buffalo. Shogun, Froggy and BeanJ were able to follow GAM Esports closely in most of the stats, but it was a total domination from the GAM side that they overshadowed any success from Saigon Buffalo players.
What to expect from Saigon Buffalo in Busan?
They weren’t the best in their league, thus, it is hard to determine what Saigon Buffalo could do at MSI 2022, especially in the Rumble Stage. A little bit of trivia: Saigon Buffalo are the youngest team in MSI 2022. They were able to outperform DetonatioN FocusMe and Team Aze, but can they repeat it against G2, RNG, T1, EG and PSG?
Hasmed, top laner of Saigon Buffalo, played many different champions this season from Gwen to Vladimir, tanks to straight-up carries. His stats look great, 25.1% damage share and 3 KDA overall, but we couldn’t see anything from him that really makes him special.
BeanJ is one of the skilled members of Saigon Buffalo, the Vietnamese played Viego and Lee Sin the most this season and he is capable of playing any of the meta champions in the jungle. His 3.7 KDA looks strong and he is an active jungler. He could change Saigon Buffalo’s chances of success.
Froggy is a great mid laner for Vietnam and we will see if he can keep up with names like Faker, Caps, Xiaohu or even jojopyun. He is mostly on control mages, but he has 3.9 KDA and 24% damage share, meaning that he does his job well.
Shogun looks like the main weapon of Saigon Buffalo, he has 28% damage share with 3.9 KDA. He plays hypercarries like Jinx and Aphelios well, but MSI 2022 meta changed, meaning that he has to prove his proficiency on champions like Tristana too. The difference between success or disappointment for Saigon Buffalo might be decided by Shogun’s performance.
Finally, let’s have a look at Taki. He is a great support, playing 21 different champions in 2022 and accumulating a 3.1 KDA. Taki’s wide champion pool could affect Saigon Buffalo’s chances of popping off incredibly high.
Schedule of Saigon Buffalo in MSI 2022
Saigon Buffalo started with a loss today, but they will have many chances of bouncing back during the Rumble Stage. Check out their schedule:
May 20, Friday
Saigon Buffalo vs PSG Talon - PSG won
Saigon Buffalo (2.60) vs Evil Geniuses (1.42) - 14:00 CEST
May 21, Saturday
T1 (1.02) vs Saigon Buffalo (10.00) - 12:00 CEST
Saigon Buffalo vs G2 Esports - 15:00 CEST
May 22, Sunday
RNG (1.04) vs Saigon Buffalo (8.50) - 12:00 CEST
Evil Geniuses vs Saigon Buffalo - 15:00 CEST
May 23, Monday
Saigon Buffalo vs RNG - 12:00 CEST
Saigon Buffalo vs PSG Talon - 15:00 CEST
May 24, Tuesday
G2 Esports vs Saigon Buffalo - 08:00 CEST
Saigon Buffalo vs T1 - 10:00 CEST
If you are interested in MSI 2022, watch the games live, claim your 100% bonus and place your bets on your favourite teams on Luckbox.
