TK Nguyen · 2026
Reset. Refocus. Rebuild.
travelled in 2026, across 19 cities, always coming home to Ho Chi Minh City.
Founder and CEO of GAM Entertainment, on the board of EO Vietnam, and a Vietnamese-American who moved to Vietnam on a one-way ticket in 2014. This was my year.
The short version
A year ago, I almost walked away from esports. GAM had missed Worlds, Levi had retired, and our HQ had shrunk to a fraction of the team it used to be.
So 2026 became my year to reset, refocus and rebuild, at GAM, at EO, in the ventures and at home. By November, I stood inside Vietnam’s national stadium with more than 30 of our own people in GAM jerseys. This is how the year in between happened.
Where 2026 started: the year we missed Worlds. Watch for my cameo at the end.
Watch: Sacrifice, the Worlds 2025 anthem, with GAM’s LeviOne year, four hats
EO Vietnam
6
EO trips, from Manila to Osaka to Đà Lạt, as the board’s Strategic Alliance and Partnerships Chair.
Replay the year
Ready
Act 01
January to April
Clearing the slate after 2025: a new season, a new game, and a yes to the EO Vietnam board.
January
January
4
East West Brewery taproom cities, with Phu Quoc now open
Skylight Nha Trang rang in 2026 with a sold-out night. East West Brewery opened in Phu Quoc and launched Good Times Lager.
GAM started a new League of Legends season.
See the postAlso in January
February
Also in February
February
Yes
to the EO Vietnam board
Tet with family in Nha Trang, and GAM into the LCP playoffs.
EO Vietnam hosted EO’s Global Board, and I decided to join our chapter’s board.
See the postMarch
March
3-0
to open our first Arena of Valor split
Our brand new Arena of Valor team beat Saigon Phantom, the 10-time champions, 3-0. We celebrated at Haidilao.
Then Riot Games HQ in LA, Chris’ wedding in La Paz, and a midnight 10K with the GAM crew.
See the postAlso in March
April
Also in April
April
1 of 40
Esports World Cup Club Partners
In 2024, Randy and I bought tickets to the first Esports World Cup just to see it. In April 2026, GAM was named a Club Partner, the only one from Vietnam.
Also in April: pickleball with Anna Leigh Waters, and my brother Dru turned 40.
See the post Why the Club Partner slot matteredAct 02
May to August
Back to what matters most: the whole team in one room, then seven weeks on the biggest stage in esports.
May
May
1st
international LCK roadshow in Vietnam
I welcomed KRX to KRX Homefront in Hanoi for GAM and the Vietnamese League community, the same weekend GAMeverse took over Ho Chi Minh City.
My first EO APAC Moderator Summit in Manila, and 12 weeks at Primal done.
See the postAlso in May
June
June
1
room, for the whole company
Our H2 kickoff put League of Legends, Arena of Valor and the HQ family in one room.
The new EO Vietnam board planned the year ahead.
See the postAlso in June
July
July
7
weeks of the Esports World Cup in Paris
We faced T1 twice, beat Movistar KOI, flew 30 Super Fans to the arena and made a film with the Jabbawockeez.
Back home, Skylight turned 11. In between, Venice with Dru and “Big Brother”.
Also in July
The film of my year
In 2008 I stood backstage in a red JabbaTV shirt as the Jabbawockeez became the first champions of America’s Best Dance Crew. We came up in the same dance community in California.
In 2026, my friends and my team made this film together for the Esports World Cup. It ran on seven LED screens across downtown Ho Chi Minh City and reached 9.4 million views.
The whole story
My most-watched reel of 2026
Paris, in the stands with Karmine Corp’s Blue Wall. People think we’re still just playing video games. This is what a real esports experience, a peak esports experience, is like.
One day, I hope we can help build this same passion and energy in Vietnam and across Southeast Asia.
Watch it on InstagramAugust
August
40
clubs at the Grand Palais
Randy and I represented Vietnam at the Esports World Cup closing ceremony in Paris.
Before that, my first EO APAC Regional Leadership Summit in Phuket: the answers are in the room.
See the post What the partnership turned intoAlso in August
Act 03
September to December
A medal for Vietnam, a home team in VALORANT, new teams, and a full national stadium.
September
Also in September
September
1
flag for three clubs
GAM, Team Secret Whales and Vikings played as one Team Vietnam against Korea and took a game off them.
Shanghai 20 years after my exchange, now to meet Moonton. Logitech G Play in Tokyo, our EO Forum in Osaka, and NUEN Moto’s VOLTY U1.
See the postOctober
Also in October
October
Bronze
for Vietnam at the Asian Games
Kiaya and Taki won bronze with Team Vietnam in Aichi-Nagoya. Riot named GAM a VCT 2027 partner team, and the #GAMGirls arrived.
Then Las Vegas, for a wedding and a belated birthday date night with my mama.
See the post What the Asian Games taught meNovember
November
30+
of us in GAM jerseys at one table
Liên Quân 10 Fest at Mỹ Đình. After the final, I looked around the table and remembered how close I came to leaving.
An EO China immersion through Shanghai and Shenzhen, my talk at RISE 4, and to close the month, our EO Vietnam chapter retreat in Đà Lạt, which I’m co-chairing.
The night at Mỹ ĐìnhAlso in November
December
December
3rd
TEDx talk, and my first in Hanoi
What 2026 taught me
The vision was never wrong. It just needed time, and the right people.
2027
If 2026 was about resetting, refocusing and rebuilding, 2027 is about leveling up: at GAM, at EO, in the ventures and at home.
It’s a growth year. We keep adding great players to our leadership team, and we’re looking to expand into new markets across the region.
GAM’s League of Legends team starts each split at home in Vietnam, and GAM VALORANT makes its debut in VCT Pacific.
And I plan to fly a little less. We’ll see about that one.