The League of Legends 2026 Global Pioneer Tournament group stage has concluded. On the previous match day, in Group A, G2 faced BFX. Before the match, most believed G2's poor form meant they couldn't beat BFX. However, this former anti-Korean powerhouse, underestimated by many, led the team to a 3:0 sweep against BFX, advancing to the semifinals. Could it be that G2 on the 20th really has something special? Back in 2018, during the World Championship, G2 also eliminated the favored champion contender RNG.

BFX's performance in this Pioneer Tournament was somewhat baffling. Against BLG, they were not favored but managed to play a full five-game series. When facing G2, everyone assumed they would advance, yet they suddenly collapsed. Looking at the outcome, this team isn't Korea's RNG; it's Korea's version of TES. When viewers trusted them, they suddenly delivered a major disappointment. Against G2, they couldn't even win a single game, which is indeed quite exaggerated.

With G2 winning this match, European region fans likely see hope again. Originally, the European league officials planned to cancel offline tournaments starting next year. G2's victory probably changed that idea immediately. Whether offline tournaments will continue is uncertain, but the studio should be preserved. Since defeating GEN in S10, Europe hasn't beaten LCK in recent years. This match truly boosts morale.

Another match on the same day was JDG versus LYON. The result is known: JDG won, but the process wasn't as easy as imagined. The two teams fought until the fourth game to decide the winner. If Inspired hadn't blatantly underperformed in the decisive game, they could have played a full five-game series. The fourth game was truly exaggerated. For the first 10 minutes, LYON played excellently, with advantage in bot lane and jungler maintaining full tempo.

But starting from the third dragon, Inspired seemed off. When LYON had a chance for a stopwatch dragon, with 35 seconds until spawn, top, jungle, and support found an opportunity to kill HongQ. After clearing lanes and securing vision around the dragon pit, LYON likely could take the dragon. The support filled the area with wards, yet the jungler went back to farm, directly giving up the dragon. After JDG took it, they gained 5 more minutes to develop.

The fourth dragon was also baffling. After JDG controlled vision, LYON self-contradicted, touching Baron then trying to return for a dragon fight, but the dragon had already been soloed by Gazi. For the fifth dragon, they again gave up the dragon to fight Baron, reaching around 7000 HP then suddenly stopped. Giving up three consecutive dragons instead let JDG get the stopwatch dragon first. LYON's decisions in these waves were truly abstract.

During the dragon soul fight, Inspired wanted to enter the pit to steal but didn't use Smite. In the final decisive Elder Dragon fight, he initiated but again didn't Smite, ending up wiped by JDG. During Aphelios' strong phase, they consistently chose to avoid fights, dragging to late game and getting reversed, which makes no sense. Viewers watching late-night dubbed this match "Esports Oscar Night" because Inspired was blatantly underperforming.

To say it's match-fixing is impossible, as this is an international tournament. But Inspired's play is indeed incomprehensible. As former Europe's top jungler and current North America's top jungler, a regular at world tournaments, performing at this level is truly unacceptable. Last year with FLY, his Sejuani was terrifyingly strong, described as "trickster demon pig" without exaggeration. But this game, he played like possessed by his mount.

Conclusion:

After BFX and LYON were eliminated, the Pioneer Tournament semifinals are set. According to rules, teams that advanced 2-0 face teams that advanced 2-1 from the other group. JDG and BLG will have an internal battle in the semifinals, guaranteeing LPL at least runner-up. G2 will challenge GEN. This year, can Caps lead the team to create another miracle?

So, how do you think Inspired performed?

Feel free to leave comments and discuss!