After its playoffs that saw BiliBili Gaming taking over Weibo Gaming 3-0 in the finals, the
League of Legends Pro League (LPL) immediately shifted its attention to the regional finals which decided the two last LPL representatives for the 2024 Worlds Championship.
JD Gaming,
Ninjas in Pyjamas,
Weibo Gaming and
LNG Esports were the 4 last teams battling out to avoid early vacation.
A sweet LNG revenge
LNG Esports were originally sent in the regional finals after a 3-2 defeat against Weibo Gaming where LNG got massively stomped in the last game of the BO5. Their rematch for a Worlds Spot didn't go to 5 games. LNG Esports indeed inflicted a 3-0 that sent WBG with many doubts in the decider match, since it was for them the second consecutive 0-3 defeat after the playoffs final.
Lee "Scout" Ye-Chan was the main player who made the difference from the first BO5 to the second, after many struggles against Li "Xiaohu" Yuan-Hao, he managed to bounce back and take the better of the midlane matchup. With a different gameplan and a better execution on the botside skirmishes, LNG were able to dominate Weibo in a very convincing fashion. Although their initial loss against TES 3-0 showed that LNG still has a lot to learn and aren't the most consistent, this victory sets them on a good momentum for Worlds.
Scout will have a chance to see Worlds again after a bitter elimination in 2023
A legend-slaying WBG/NIP/JDG matchup
Song "Rookie" Eui-jin, Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk and Xiaohu, only one of them could make it to worlds while the two other would need to watch the most important tournament of the year on a - hopefully comfortable - sofa at home. Among these three, Rookie was the one with the most on the line as he has the curse of always missing out on regional qualifiers, and has not made it to Worlds since 2019.
Rookie fans will have to wait another year, despite an excellent performance from him on the adc in mid, NiP's botside was completely outclassed by Ruler and Lou "MISSING" Yun-Feng. Overall, the macro gap was notable for the 2023 LPL champions, whose 2024 edition is far below their previous heights, but has kept some remains nonetheless, especially through Seo "Kanavi" Jin-hyeok's jungling. The last BO5 was set: JDG versus Weibo Gaming.
Last year, JDG and WBG had the funny stat that WBG had won their two BO3 against JDG and never played them in a BO5, resulting in a "curse" that JDG was supposed to have against Weibo. A curse that isn't very good since JD Gaming took a BO5 win over WBG in the Spring Playoffs, but that resurfaced at the right time. The match in the match wasn't between Xiaohu and Zeng "Yagao" Qi, but between the two ADCs : Ruler and Wang "Light" Guang-Yu. It was as if the rest of the map barely mattered (especially the toplane matchup). Game 5 would once again see Weibo playing their best League of Legends at the last leg, demolishing JDG and finishing it off with an Ashe arrow directly on Ruler's Miss Fortune. JDG's lack of sololanes options and necessity to mechanically outplay teamfights shattered at a Weibo Gaming that wasn't specifically better in the mechanics, but was more pragmatic and efficient in their plays, with Lee "Tarzan" Seung-Young and Liu "Crisp" Qing-Song finding more impact on the map than Kanavi and MISSING.
Header Photo Credit: Riot Games
