The mutual accusations between Xiaonaiyou and BIN

BLG was once the hope of an all-Chinese LPL team to win the championship, attracting many fans with their formidable strength. However, after BLG finished as runner-up in the World Championship last year, both players and fans became increasingly arrogant. BIN’s refusal to bow after matches and ELK’s “clowning around” during games left many LPL viewers disappointed. Consequently, when BLG was eliminated by TES in the Swiss round, many LPL fans celebrated, seeing it as BLG’s comeuppance.

Besides TES eliminating BLG to the delight of fans, the standoff between TES mid laner Xiaonaiyou and BIN, where neither bowed, also gained a lot of audience support. Many viewers admired Xiaonaiyou’s toughness. Since BIN disrespected TES players, Xiaonaiyou didn’t feel the need to respect BIN either. Some fans even suggested that future LPL players should take Xiaonaiyou’s example and refuse to bow to BIN if he doesn’t bow first. (In this year’s finals, Xiaonaiyou already showed resistance to BIN by bowing to other BLG players but not to BIN.)

ON’s character controversy escalates

Besides BIN’s continued refusal to bow after matches, BLG’s support player ON was heavily criticized by many LPL fans for his “F6 bird” recall behavior in the mid lane during the match against TES. Many JKL fans felt ON was mocking JKL, who often dies in mid lane, nicknamed “Falling Phoenix Slope.” Some joked that BLG’s bottom lane duo is an odd pair: the AD likes to clown around during the ban-pick phase, while the support prefers to play mind games during matches.

Some fans even dug up ON’s past controversies. Last year, during the finals when BLG was leading 2-1, ON played Orianna and chased Faker at the fountain, forcing Faker to use his second form. This year’s Worlds saw ON’s bird taunt provoke JKL into his second form as well. Many viewers believe ON will never win a championship because while others focus on winning, ON focuses on showing off. Some even mock BLG’s support ON as the classic “high offense, low defense” player.

G2 celebrates with champagne!

With LPL veteran player Zizhao’s “godlike play,” the LPL secured a favorable draw in the Worlds quarterfinals. Many LPL fans openly say that as long as AL beats T1, AL will likely advance to the finals, since T1 is AL’s only tough opponent in the upper bracket. Without top laner Zeus, T1’s potential has significantly dropped. Doran has been a consistent weak point for T1 in the Swiss round, and the usually stable “God Lü Bu” has recently been outperformed in AD matchups.

Besides LPL fans considering this a good draw, many international viewers joked that except for HLE, the other seven teams all believe they can defeat their opponents, as the skill gaps are relatively small. Especially G2, upon seeing TES as their quarterfinal opponent, laughed in the locker room while paying tribute to RNG. (It must be said that TES was the weakest on paper in the 3-1 group. Do you think G2 has a chance to beat TES?)

Conclusion

If the first round of S15 playoffs had been T1 versus AL, I would strongly believe AL could defeat T1. However, with the official schedule placing their match on the last day, the pressure on AL is huge. AL qualified undefeated at 3-0, meaning they will have a 14-day break without matches. Meanwhile, T1 is known for its strong adaptability in Worlds. I genuinely worry about a T1 upset over AL. Who do you think is stronger, AL or T1?