The first stage of the LPL new season will officially start in three days. Recently, all major teams have successively revealed their lineups. Because of the World Championship points changes, Top Esports has to play with their full main roster. In the starting lineup, 369 and JKL are present, but there are two players for the AD role. Brother will probably be the backup. If Top Esports struggles early on, JKL should make a comeback in the latter half.

Top Esports' lineup seems a bit underwhelming in terms of strength. The jungler, Niuyou, showed his skill during the Demacia Cup, and everyone noticed. Moreover, this year's coaching staff is a downgrade compared to last year. Poppy's coaching skills are not on the same level as Hongmi. The so-called "industry champion of BLG" was his claim. If the team gels well, finishing in the top six should be achievable, but this lineup still looks insufficient for international competitions.

BLG Team Rated S+ Again

With the first stage about to begin, Miller recently evaluated the strength of the 14 LPL teams again. This time, his guests were Guan Zeyuan and K4cker. All three agreed that BLG is the only S+ rated team. The reason is simple: the new season’s meta favors BLG. Both top and bottom lanes have significant impact. Viper gains an extra item, Bin can reach level 20, and most importantly, Xun is no longer an easy target.

For the remaining teams, AL and WBG received S ratings from all three. Guan Zeyuan’s S list also includes JDG, as he believes JDG has potential. The major coach personally favors HongQ. Beyond that, teams rated A include EDG, IG, TES, LNG, and OMG. The rest are basically considered bottom-tier and got the lowest ratings from them.

Faker Rumored to Return to EDG as Coach

When discussing EDG’s rating, Guan said: "The team soul is back. EDG’s soul is undoubtedly the Coach Faker." During the transfer period, he parted ways peacefully with JDG, and no news came afterward. Returning to his old team as a coach seems possible. JDG’s performance last year was mediocre at best, but in the last few matches, Faker’s drafting was quite good; it was just that the players didn’t perform well.

EDG’s roster changes are minimal. The top, mid, jungle, and support positions have all renewed contracts, with only the AD role changed. Compared to Ahn, Leave is definitely stronger. With Faker and Leave, EDG’s lineup this season has the potential to be a dark horse. If they gel well, they should make the playoffs, and contending for a top 6 spot is not impossible. However, looking at the five players’ IDs lined up, their ceiling is quite clear.

RNG’s Contract Tricks Exposed

After RNG was removed by the LPL officials, their reputation has plummeted recently. A self-proclaimed insider recently revealed RNG’s contract tricks. When signing players, RNG offers additional commercial contracts, plus non-compete agreements and a 1 billion yuan penalty clause. These contracts contain hidden traps even professional lawyers can’t detect. The strangest part is that the player signs with an empty shell company of RNG.

To trap players, RNG has set up over 30 such shell companies. Even worse, to avoid paying the balance to their clothing supplier, RNG had people replicate their team uniforms. After being caught, they lost the lawsuit but still refused to pay. This led to the clothing factory kneeling at RNG’s main gate to demand payment. If these actions are true, RNG is truly frightening.

Conclusion:

The insider’s revelations have yet to be verified, but what he said sounds quite credible and plausible. Many former RNG players were forced into retirement. Brother checked once and lost 6 million yuan due to this. However, the 1 billion yuan penalty seems exaggerated. Players might not see the traps, but they should understand the numbers.

So, what do you think? Is BLG really an S+ level team?

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