Is it impossible for AL to win the championship if they face GEN in the finals?

With LPL veteran player Zizt’s “Godlike play,” two top contenders from the LCK, GEN and HLE, were placed in the same group. Many LPL fans, seeing this, hoped that Peanut could defeat GEN and advance to the Worlds semifinals, especially since Peanut revealed before the tournament that he would retire after this Worlds. Thus, many LPL fans wished for Peanut to fulfill his dream at this event. Additionally, the LPL championship coach openly admitted on stream that if AL met HLE in the finals, AL had a chance to win, but facing GEN would make winning very difficult.

As coach Zhu repeatedly praised GEN, many LPL fans feared GEN reaching the finals. However, after the match between GEN and HLE concluded, HLE was decisively defeated by GEN 3-1. Many LPL fans realized they had underestimated GEN’s strength. During the Swiss stage, many thought TES was simply weak, which was why GEN dominated them, but in this BO5 series, HLE’s champion top laner Zeus and mid laner ZEKA were also heavily pressured by GEN.

The world's top solo laner was outperformed in lane by the MVP

After GEN secured the match victory, the official LoL account announced the best player of the BO5, awarding GEN’s top laner kiin the MVP. Many LPL fans joked that Zeus, having left T1, could no longer be called the “God King” because in this BO5, HLE tried to give Zeus counter picks every game, yet his performance disappointed many viewers. He was solo killed in under three minutes playing Lillia, and in the final game playing a desperate Camille, he spent the whole match just farming lanes with minimal impact in team fights compared to kiin’s Qiyana.

Due to GEN’s overwhelming strength, the entire team began celebrating their championship hopes early after the match. In an interview, Chidi admitted that this year’s draw and group stage resembled S7, so GEN expects an easy championship. GEN’s top laner KIIN also stated in the interview that the team and coaching staff only fear HLE; once HLE is eliminated, GEN will have no rivals. KIIN also revealed that his future champion skin choice will be Gwen.

BIN responds for the first time about retiring after the round of 16!

Since being eliminated in the round of 16, BIN has faced the largest wave of online harassment in LPL history, with many fans flooding his personal accounts urging him to retire immediately. In response to the growing public pressure, BIN publicly addressed the “retirement after round of 16” rumors, admitting that some of his past statements and actions were immature, which caused misunderstandings among fans. He promised to gradually correct his bad habits, learn to respect others, and strive for better results next year.

Many BLG fans celebrated with champagne after seeing BIN’s interview since BIN confirmed he will continue competing next year, so there is no need to worry about his retirement this year. Some fans joked that BIN has matured, and many are now looking forward to next year’s handshake moments, as BIN mentioned he wants to respect others in the future—and post-match handshakes are a sign of respect. (Do you think BIN will bow and shake hands in the future? If he does, his public image would improve significantly.)

Conclusion

I have watched the full version of BIN’s “retirement statement.” Although BIN said he might retire after the round of 16, he later clarified it was a joke, so he never truly planned to retire. Moreover, BIN currently has no physical injuries, so it seems feasible for him to continue playing professionally for several more years. What do you think—will BIN stay with BLG in the future? Many fans hope he will leave BLG.