The third stage of the LPL group matches is coming to a close with only one week remaining. BLG has faced two straight losses after falling to IG. In the IG game, ELK's decision to show Shaco drew a lot of attention. After a detailed replay, fans realized that ELK had picked Shaco ahead of time, since Gala had just locked Sivir and Shaco popped up immediately—something that only happens with a pre-lock.

It seems ELK just wanted to show off his pick to the team at first, but Gala locked in his champion too quickly, leaving ELK no time to switch. When the camera cut to ELK, he looked visibly flustered, probably knowing he’d stirred up controversy. There’s really no way to justify this move, and IG’s veteran Baolan tried to defend him, but ELK’s actions made that impossible.

During a recent livestream, Baolan was asked by chat to comment on the Shaco incident. At first, he thought it was just a coincidence and suggested ELK might have a habit of showing Shaco every game. To test his theory, Baolan checked the BP of IG vs BLG for the next two games—ELK didn’t show Shaco. Still unconvinced, Baolan looked back at BLG’s match against TOP Esports, but again, no Shaco. Finally, he gave up and said, “I won’t talk about it anymore.”

It’s clear that ELK’s Shaco highlight was aimed specifically at Wei, suggesting BLG’s team atmosphere wasn’t great before. Besides Baolan, IG’s other veteran Ning also reviewed the match on his stream. Ning commented that BLG’s discipline is even worse than IG’s; whenever they gain an advantage, they start showing off. Last year, they lost to T1 and felt unlucky, but now Ning thinks BLG deserved to lose.

Summing up, Ning remarked: BLG is stronger than IG, but BLG lacks respect. This sense of respect is the most important thing in competitive play, so BLG deserved criticism and defeat. Ning’s points were valid; after BLG got ahead, they stopped focusing on macro play and positioning, rushing to fight IG instead. Several players didn’t have their ultimates ready when the team fight started, leading to a quick loss.

Maybe BLG got overconfident after so many wins in the first round. Losing two games might actually be good for them, giving a chance to review and fix discipline issues. However, it seems management blames the jungler for the losing streak. Beichuan’s agent recently revealed that BLG has started rotating junglers in scrims. In the next match against JDG, Shadow might be benched and Beichuan could return to the starting lineup.

After watching BLG’s last two games, it’s clear the jungle position hasn’t performed well, but Shadow shouldn’t take all the blame. In the first round, Shadow was leading shotcalling and kept BLG disciplined, never giving up their advantage and always playing for resources. Suddenly, the team’s style changed—they kept looking for fights and tried to win through team battles. It feels like Shadow’s authority as the shotcaller has been taken away.

With Beichuan’s return, it could be a “honeymoon phase” for BLG, possibly leading to a short winning streak. Still, it might not last long. Personally, I think they should reach out to Jiejie in advance, just in case both Beichuan and Shadow struggle in playoffs. Having three junglers might help BLG keep that honeymoon buff going.

Conclusion:

ELK’s move with Shaco really destroyed BLG’s public image. If he treats old teammates like this, you can imagine how he treats opponents. The management needs to educate the players—not about anything else, but at least about basic respect. The winning team bows while fist-bumping as a sign of respect, while the losing side stands straight. Does that make sense?

So, what do you think is BLG’s problem?

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