The League of Legends S15 World Championship is just two days away. Recently, LOL officially published a power ranking of the 17 teams. All four LCK teams ranked within the top ten; KT placed ninth, and the other three secured the top three positions. From our region, AL, BLG, and Top Esports are ranked 4th to 6th, while IG fell out of the top ten, positioned 11th.

Among the teams in the play-in stage, T1 is ranked seven spots higher than IG. It seems Riot favors T1 in this play-in. However, the official rankings are based on win-loss records, so their reference value is limited. If analyzed closely, BLG’s strength currently surpasses AL’s, but since rankings prioritize wins, there’s little to argue about.

Bin changed his name to World's No.1 Top Laner on the Chinese server

This year’s World Championship is hosted locally, so players have been training intensely on the Summit of Power. BLG’s top laner Bin’s recent ranked match record is quite "impressive." From the 10th to the 11th, Bin played 10 ranked games but only won three. In one game with Aurelion Sol, he was completely dominated by random players. In another playing Renekton, he faced FNC’s top and jungle who relentlessly targeted him, resulting in two games where Bin ended 0-7.

Interestingly, Bin changed his in-game ID to "World's No.1 Top Laner." In the game where he played Aurelion Sol and severely let down his teammates, Bin was mercilessly mocked by them: “Where did this Emerald player come from?” At surrender, a teammate typed: “Change your name to World’s No.1 Bot AI.” Wow, that teammate really showed no respect for the title. But wearing that ID, Bin had to endure the ridicule for poor performance.

T1 head coach Tom: No pressure facing IG

With the play-in stage about to start, T1 players have arrived in the LPL region and begun preparations. In a recent media interview, T1 head coach Tom confidently stated: T1 will definitely beat IG. He also shared his views on IG, noting that the mid-laner champion pools of both teams overlap significantly, but T1 holds a slight advantage because Faker has consistently performed excellently at Worlds.

When asked about facing IG, Tom said: There’s no pressure and no nervousness playing against IG. Although both are fourth seeds, honestly, T1 doesn’t feel much pressure against IG. This team’s performance at Worlds has been proven multiple times. Besides IG’s AD carry being relatively stable, no one knows how the other players will perform, especially Rookie, who has been struggling throughout the play-in.

IG’s event inviting female Faker sparks controversy

Before IG’s Worlds even started, they secured a major sponsorship. Recently, Meituan partnered with IG to hold an offline fan support event on the 14th match day. Among the invited guests, besides Xiaosan and the couple Shunai Nai, was the "female Faker" Sahel. As soon as the guest list was announced, it triggered heated debate, with many fans and bloggers criticizing IG and boycotting Sahel’s participation in the offline support event.

Feeling the pressure, Sahel announced she would withdraw from the offline event due to other work commitments. Apparently, IG’s management is quite savvy. Previously, fans joked about having Sahel attend the live match to "distract" Faker. Unexpectedly, IG actually went ahead with this plan. Of course, this was just a joke; it’s impossible to affect Faker, whose resolve is as solid as a rock.

Conclusion:

After a quiet period, Bin has started causing a stir again. Confidence is good, but shouldn’t the title “World’s No.1 Top Laner” be reserved until after winning the championship? If BLG loses, it feels like Bin will be criticized again. This happens every year; you have to admit, that’s just Bin.

What do you think about IG inviting a female Faker?

Feel free to leave your thoughts and discuss!