A mysterious storyline unfolded in the LPL as WBG secured first place in their group but then quickly collapsed, suffering a crushing defeat to NS in the final match.

Hello to all LPL viewers and League of Legends summoners, this is Tianxia Game Hub.

The LOL Asian Invitational entered the knockout phase today, featuring a double-elimination system where each team carries a revival chance. The four teams advancing are WBG, DK, BFX, and NS.

Editor

As a result of today’s games, both teams that finished first in their groups were upset.

LPL witnessed a baffling scenario as WBG quickly faltered.

During the group stage, WBG was swept by JDG in an internal matchup, but later against DK, they astonishingly won 2-0 with dominant performances, especially in the second game where they relentlessly pressured DK, racking up many kills. This impressive form certainly surprised the audience.

Editor

Thanks to this victory, WBG claimed first place in their group by holding the tiebreaker advantage and would face NS, the second-place team from another group, in the knockout stage.

Logically, WBG should have had the upper hand against NS, but they quickly stumbled, disappointing fans. In the first game versus NS, WBG managed a comeback, overcoming a huge mid-game deficit by initiating a decisive mid-lane pickoff that sparked the counterattack.

Xiaohu’s Galio made a key impact, followed by top laner Breath’s Lillia joining in to eliminate NS’s core bottom lane player, Yuen Ana, securing the first game win. Jiwoo’s performance drew harsh criticism, but things took a turn in the second game where the blame shifted to WBG’s bottom laner Light.

DK advanced smoothly, while WBG faced a do-or-die match.

In game two, Xiaotian picked Lee Sin, his roaming jungler from the previous match against DK, and secured first blood early. However, WBG’s jungle invasion attempt backfired, leading to a collapse as NS’s Orianna and Nocturne combo unleashed a perfect ultimate and massive AoE damage, crushing WBG’s teamfight.

Editor

The teams traded kills afterward, with WBG clawing back some fights, but in a critical mid-lane teamfight, Light’s Kai’Sa made a huge mistake by stepping into crowd control and quickly dying, causing another teamfight collapse.

In the decisive teamfight, WBG lost control after Urgot was taken down, and the momentum shifted fully to NS, pushing the match into the final game.

In the final match, WBG’s play was rather questionable; they picked a bottom lane combination of Caitlyn and Elise, a strong duo previously used by BLG, but clearly not fitting WBG’s style. Their bot lane combo failed a key engage, with Light’s Caitlyn dying under tower instead of securing a kill. After lane swap, they continued to struggle and even lost the first tower to NS.

Unable to accept the disadvantage, the Caitlyn-based strategy was forced into fights without output, getting easily overwhelmed, and the match quickly ended.

With this loss, WBG now faces a do-or-die match against BFX, while DK smoothly advanced to the winners’ bracket final. This means both group first-place teams have been upset, an unexpected outcome.

Missing the chance to advance, WBG’s prospects look grim.

In my opinion, the match against NS was WBG’s best shot at reaching the final, but after losing, their chances in the losers’ bracket are slim. BFX appears stronger than NS, especially with their star bottom laner Diable.

If Light cannot regain form and continues to be targeted by opponents, winning will be very difficult for WBG.

Overall, WBG’s form remains unstable and needs serious adjustment. Given their previous impressive sweep of DK, there is still some hope for WBG. Tomorrow’s match will be crucial to see if they can survive this challenge, win the game, and fight for a spot in the final.

If WBG loses tomorrow, it would mean that three Korean teams sweep the top three spots in this Asian Invitational, a scenario LPL fans would find hard to accept. Hopefully, WBG will take this seriously and show their best form to contend for a good placement, at least boosting LPL’s morale.