The third stage of the LPL group matches is almost over. AL recently defeated FPX with a clean sweep for their seventh win, maintaining their fourth place in the Summit group. The strength gap between teams is now clear: TES is in a league of its own and has secured a playoff spot early. The suspense over the remaining three spots isn't great, as AL and IG both have a two-point lead over Weibo in fifth, making it very likely they'll go straight to the top four.

WBG and JDG only have three to four matches left, so catching up or overtaking is quite difficult. For WBG, for example, they still have to face IG, but their chances of winning are slim. Previously, their match with JDG was postponed, so the two teams have to play back-to-back. Even if WBG wins both games, they’d only reach seven points and still couldn’t surpass AL. So, JDG and Weibo will probably have to go through the Knight’s Road, facing teams like LGD and UP.

JKL talks about the second broadcast environment on stream

Recently, there have been quite a few off-stage incidents in the LPL. XuanShen created derogatory nicknames for players, which led to him losing his second broadcast privileges. IG also sent a lawyer’s letter requesting the platform to ban his account. This issue likely won’t have any further developments, except maybe XuanShen publicly apologizing. After the controversy erupted, TheShy’s former teammate, JKL from TES, also shared his thoughts on the LPL’s second broadcast commentary during a recent livestream.

JKL said: I only watch matches on the official channel because the official commentary is a bit more normal. The current environment is very strange—there’s only criticism, no encouragement. Most second broadcast commentators either team up with others or spend their time flaming. If this keeps up, no newcomers will want to play. Any small mistake gets dozens of people chasing after you with hate; the pressure is just too much. Honestly, JKL’s points are valid—the LPL’s second broadcast scene really needs some changes.

ELK responds to the clown emote incident

In the match against IG, ELK used the clown emote to taunt Wei, which sparked widespread outrage. Not only did viewers take issue, but even IG’s shareholders got involved: “I just learned something new—overseas, you don’t need an ID card.” While no names were mentioned, it was clearly aimed at the “Little King” since LPL only has one. After the clown emote, many fans joked: “He’s showing his own ID card.”

After facing ridicule and insults, ELK recently appeared in a fan group to address the situation: Honestly, it doesn’t matter to me. I hope everyone else feels the same and doesn’t pay attention to negative voices. Just be happy every day, eat well, drink well, and sleep well. His comments almost make him sound like a victim—seems like he’s gotten used to criticism over the years and is now immune to it.

LPL officials issue a public apology

While the clown emote controversy around ELK hasn’t died down, the officials created another stir. Normally, after each match day, the event organizers post the Top 5 Highlights from the previous day in the afternoon. But for the BLG vs IG match, the post didn’t go up until after 10 p.m. Some fans felt the operation team was showing bias; with such a high-profile match, posting earlier would generate more buzz, but the team kept delaying it.

After the controversy, the officials apologized in the comments: Due to a scheduling oversight, the content wasn’t posted on time. We apologize to the affected players, viewers, and clubs. Honestly, this move was pretty strange. For matches in the Nirvana group that no one cares about, the officials always post on time, but for IG, they mess up. It’s hard to say if this was intentional or not—maybe the ops team was just in a bad mood after their home team lost.

Conclusion:

The current atmosphere in the LPL really isn’t great. Most second broadcast commentators, just as JKL said, constantly target players, and any mistake is blown out of proportion. The kind of commentary that analyzes the game, BP, and stays professional isn’t popular with viewers. Even writers like me have to follow the trends, because no one cares about match recaps anymore.

So, do you think the operations team is showing favoritism?

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments!