HÀ NỘI — Despite a dismal showing on the first day, Phan Văn Đông (Vicoi) remarkably bounced back to win another gold medal for Vietnamese e-sports in Games.

The PUBG Mobile SEA Games men's singles finals are played on 2 days, May 16 and 17. On May 16, Vicoi never even showed up in the top 20 players on the leaderboard. None of the six Vietnamese playing in the event were in the top 10 after the first day.

But what seemed gloomy prospects of a Vietnamese gold medal soon took a turn for the better on the second day. Vicoi shocked everyone in the National Convention Center by winning the first game and claiming 44 points on the leaderboard.

Although he ended the second round in the fourteenth place, Vicoi soon bounced back with a fifth-place finish in game three.

The pivotal moment of the event came in the fourth game when the hosts finished in third place. This brought Vicoi to second place on the total leaderboard, and should he place in the top 10 in the next round, the Vietnamese would surely earn a place on the podium.

In the fifth and final match of the finals, all six Vietnamese players persevered and survived to make the top 15 players. Two of them placed in the top five, with Vicoi finishing in fourth place and earning enough points to become the first PUBG Mobile men's singles gold medalist in the SEA Games.

Vicoi's victory is the second time the Vietnamese National Anthem was heard in the e-sports event, with the Việt Nam Wild Rift team bringing the first gold medal earlier on May 15 after winning 3-0 against Thailand.

The PUBG Mobile events will continue on May 18 with the men's team event.