The first stage of the LPL group matches is almost over. On the previous match day, LGD and OMG from the Nirvana group played their final game. After a tough three-game series, OMG won and gained 3 points. OMG and LNG thus moved on to the second round of the Knights' Path. Per official regulations, Nirvana's top team will face the second-last from the Steadfast group, meaning LNG’s initial opponent is TT, and LGD and UP are out, preparing for the next stage.

On the same day, another match featured WBG against BLG. Before this game, WBG had just completed a double win over JDG and were riding a three-game winning streak. Meanwhile, BLG had suffered consecutive losses to JDG and Top Esports, accumulating a three-game losing streak. Although IG helped them recharge, most fans expected WBG to have the upper hand over BLG. However, everyone was wrong—BLG steamrolled WBG like crushing little chicks.

In the first game, Zhao was immediately targeted, caught twice within 5 minutes, starting 0-2. However, BLG’s top lane overextended with four players against two due to poor communication, giving WBG an opening. By 10 minutes, BLG led by 2K gold, and WBG started to panic. Xiaohu saw the enemy mid and support grouped together and dashed in, trying to push them back. Unfortunately, his brain froze; after drifting forward, he stood still, auto-attacked minions absentmindedly, then wasted his ultimate.

Following this funny play, Xiaohu flashed but still couldn't escape. He did nothing with his ultimate, wasted his flash, and gave away a kill. His comedic blunder made both viewers and commentators laugh. Tongxi immediately questioned: "What’s going on here?" After the match, Xiaohu explained his comedy of errors: he originally intended to ult Bard, but forgot to enable smart casting, so the ultimate didn’t activate when he went in.

Forgetting to set smart cast can definitely cause this kind of mistake. When you're used to smart casting but need to switch off for a certain champion, it’s easy to forget to switch back. After being quickly defeated in the first game, WBG completely collapsed in the second. Jiejie seemed possessed by the replay review, turning into an F6 master, while the duo signaled to gank him. Jiejie stubbornly refused to retreat and ended up dying first.

The jungler got lost in the jungle, recklessly feeding kills, and the top lane was also dominated. Zika was pressured in lane, losing 30 CS and unable to hold his turret plating. Although the bot lane performed normally, the team lacked an Aatrox during fights. Ultimately, WBG was swiftly defeated by BLG. Watching this game, it’s clear Jiejie really struggles with Aatrox. This style of tempo jungler just doesn’t suit him and should be avoided.

It wasn’t just the players underperforming; WBG’s coach also made mistakes in the draft. In a post-match interview, Xiaohu openly criticized: the team’s use of counters and lane control were problematic. The WBG coaching staff acknowledged the lane control issues. During the interview, the coach took responsibility: letting the enemy bot lane play too comfortably in game one was a mistake, and adjustments will be made from this aspect going forward.

Not securing lane priority in the current meta is definitely a problem. Without lane control, it’s impossible to contest dragons and support rotations will always lag behind. But even with a perfect draft, poor performances in top, mid, and jungle mean victory is unlikely. Zika really needs to improve his laning; he gets dominated every time against Bin. Jiejie also needs to rethink his approach, and Xiaohu must hurry to regain his form.

Conclusion:

WBG can beat JDG but get crushed like bots by BLG, showing too much inconsistency. As a veteran, Xiaohu’s failure to step up is one thing, but his frequent disciplinary issues are unacceptable. After so many years as a pro, he still dares to do questionable plays like face-checking bushes. Coaches need to seriously review and reprimand him during video sessions.

So, what do you think about Jiejie’s Aatrox performance?

Feel free to leave your comments and join the discussion!