The third stage of the LPL regular season has ended, with TES, IG, BLG, and AL from the top group moving straight to the playoffs. These four teams will be able to select their opponents and have priority in side choice and pick order according to their rankings. WBG, JDG, WE, and FPX fell into the knight’s path and must battle with the rebirth group NIP, EDG, LGD, and UP for playoff qualification. The lowest-ranking teams LNG and TT have begun early breaks to get ready for S16.

After the regular season ended and one day of rest, the knight’s path officially began. During this rest day, fans of BLG and IG were in a heated dispute. Most viewers know the reason: on the day of the final match between IG and BLG, a spectator brought a handwritten card with insulting words to interact with Bin, and BLG fans believed this was an IG fan who went offline to taunt face-to-face.

IG fans definitely deny such disgraceful behavior. The dispute escalated because of this incident. As the situation got worse, the spectator who interacted with Bin offline came forward to clarify. This fan said they brought two gifts to the venue that day, but the photographer ignored one of them, leading to being wrongly labeled as an IG fan, which left them feeling both frustrated and speechless.

Then the spectator further explained: they are a devoted fan of Bin since 2023 and to prove they are not an IG fan, they shared BLG match ticket records, videos of the interaction at the event, and their captain rank in Bin’s live stream (over 600 days of support). This move confused BLG fans, revealing that the so-called “IG fan” targeted by the group attack was actually one of their own.

After the main person came forward to clear the misunderstanding, the truth was finally revealed, and IG fans were clearly wronged. Rational viewers probably never believed that the spectator who confronted Bin offline was an IG fan, since most IG fans prefer to argue online and don’t engage in offline confrontations. In fact, IG players are usually the ones targeted by fans of other teams.

Perhaps the way this BLG fan interacted was a bit unusual, which caused them to be attacked by their own side. It shows that idols and fans can have similar traits. BLG’s reputation is already poor, and the fans only added fuel to the fire. After the reversal, BLG’s image dropped to a new low. In LPL history, it seems this is the only team to cause such widespread public outrage.

Last year and the year before, BLG was the strongest all-Chinese roster our LPL region was proud of. Now they have ended up like this, which shows the players have completely lost public favor. In the first half of the third stage, their many wins kept public opinion relatively stable, but when ELK pulled a clown move against IG and lost, it ignited public criticism that won’t settle quickly.

If it weren’t for the internal conflict involving Wei, BLG’s reputation might not be so bad. During last year’s World Championship, most fans supported BLG in the finals, but this year is different. Many viewers now would rather support LCK teams than see BLG win, showing how bad their reputation has become. At Worlds, this all-Chinese roster may no longer enjoy the same level of support as last year since their image has been thoroughly damaged.

Conclusion:

BLG fans wrongly blamed IG fans for their own side’s actions, but after the truth came out, those fans became the laughingstock. It seems ELK’s clown act in the previous match wasn’t aimed at Wei but at himself and his fans. After this wave of backlash, BLG truly became the target of universal criticism, with a reputation beyond repair.

So, what do you think BLG should do to restore their reputation?

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