are rewriting the narrative of the
2026 LPL Split 2 in dramatic fashion. These past few days, they have taken down both
and
in back-to-back playoff series, winning 3–1 and 3–0, respectively to secure their place in the LPL Split 2 upper bracket final. They will face
on Sunday with a spot in the grand final — and MSI 2026 qualification — on the line. This also means only one of Anyone’s Legend, Bilibili Gaming, and JD Gaming can make a lower bracket run for another chance to qualify for MSI.
Their journey, however, began in near-disaster. Placed in the Ascend group alongside the eight best teams in the league, Team WE endured a brutal group stage, finishing with a 1–13 record. At that point, expectations were at their lowest, and few could have predicted what would follow.
At the center of this resurgence is jungler Wang “
” Meng-Qi, who has been performing at an elite level for over a year. His consistency and impact have been instrumental in stabilizing the team and driving their playoff momentum.
Voted Player of the Match for his series against AL, he stated, “
I hope TES don’t underestimate us,” leaning into his team’s underdog status heading into the matchup.
The JinJin factor
There is also a familiar presence behind this resurgence. Head coach Jin "JinJin" Guang-Hua, who led the team during its 2017 Spring title, has once again become a central figure in Team WE’s success. Having previously coached the roster from 2015 to 2018 before returning in 2024, he represents a direct link between the organization’s past glory and its current revival. Across the years, JinJin has remained the common denominator in Team WE’s most successful periods, reinforcing his status as one of the key architects of the club’s identity.
Interestingly, he is also working with Xiang "Condi" Ren-Jie, the jungler of the team from 2016 to 2018, who is also still helping the team from afar. After the win, JinJin himself said: “I’m not the only coach at WE — we also have Condi working behind the scenes. During the regular season, we lost a lot of games, but after each loss we took time to reflect. The most important thing is that WE is extremely united. After the play-in stage, it feels like we can beat anyone.”
Echoes of the past
This run already stands among the best in Team WE’s modern history. By guaranteeing a top-three finish, they have matched their second-best result since their Summer 2021 campaign, when a roster featuring Lou "
" Yun-Feng, Chen "
" Chen, Zhao "
" Jia-Hao, and Cui "
" Xiao-Jun made a deep run before each player went on to build their own legacy.
Yet the organization’s greatest achievement still dates back nearly a decade. Team WE were crowned LPL champions in Spring 2017, a golden era the club has not been able to replicate since. Now, nine years later, they have a chance to come closer than ever to that benchmark.
To reach the final, they will need to overcome Top Esports — a challenge that will define whether this run becomes a historic comeback or simply a memorable underdog story.
