The most anticipated match of the LPL Demacia Cup has ended!

Every year after the LPL transfer window closes, many top teams take part in the Demacia Cup to let fans evaluate the potential of their new lineups. Many LPL fans also use the Demacia Cup results to forecast future tournament outcomes. For instance, last year's Demacia Cup winner AL and runner-up TES reached the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively at this year's World Championship. Therefore, many fans were looking forward to the performances of BLG, WBG, and JDG in this edition of the Demacia Cup. (TES and AL's star players all collectively withdrew from the tournament)

Recently, there was a match between WBG and JDG, and many fans were curious to see who the biggest winner of the LPL transfer window was. JDG spent heavily to acquire coach Tabe and the mid-jungle duo RedCanq and Junjia from CFO, while WBG signed AD carry ELK and former GEN coachKim Jeong-su.Before the match started, many fans believed JDG had the stronger lineup, considering JDG's bottom lane featured GALA and their mid-jungle duo are players who reached the quarterfinals at the World Championship.

However, after the biggest spotlight match of the LPL Demacia Cup concluded, many fans mocked that JDG's management had been fooled again. In this match, except for AD carry GALA who dominated WBG's bottom lane ELK in the first two games, JDG's top, mid, and jungle were all suppressed by WBG, resulting in JDG losing 1-2 to WBG. Many fans, seeing this result, believe JDG will find it very hard to qualify for the World Championship this year, as their roster on paper is not very strong.

Has JDG become the big loser?

After JDG lost the match, many LPL fans felt that JDG's management was once again the "big loser," since the mid laner RedCanq and jungler Junjia, who were signed for high salaries during the transfer window, were thoroughly outperformed by WBG's mid laner Xiaohu and jungler JIEJIE in this BO3. Even JDG's highest-valued coach Tabe made drafting mistakes during the match. LOL champion coach Zhu Kai stated that the main reason JDG lost to WBG was because coach Tabe's draft was inferior to WBG's coach. (Tabe's choice of Viktor mid and Qiyana jungle confused many viewers)

Of course, some fans think JDG losing to WBG is not shameful, since WBG’s mid laner Xiaohu and jungler JIEJIE have proven their strength on the world stage, whereas JDG’s mid-jungle duo only achieved quarterfinal finishes at Worlds. Some even argue that jungler Junjia and mid laner RedCanq’s quarterfinal results were largely due to riding the momentum created by bottom laner Doggo; if Doggo hadn’t performed well, Junjia and RedCanq might not have reached the Worlds quarterfinals.

After WBG defeated JDG, many fans agreed that jungler JIEJIE and mid laner Xiaohu have great synergy. Industry insiders analyzed that JIEJIE’s poor performance in FPX was because he is a jungle carry player who does not like to gank early, and FPX lacked individual skill, forcing him to gank early to lead the tempo. WBG’s three lanes all have well-rounded individual skills, allowing JIEJIE to focus on farming jungle carry champions and provide damage support during team fights.

Conclusion

After watching JDG’s mid laner RedCanq’s performance, I personally feel JDG might once again be the "big loser" this year. JDG’s choice of mid laners in recent years has been quite "abstract," signing top-salary mid laners annually but disappointing fans in the end. Last year JDG’s mid was Yagao, this year it’s Scout, and next year it will be RedCanq. Currently, the LPL region clearly lacks depth in mid lane talent.