After TheShy’s departure, many IG fans were disheartened by the new roster, even stating they wouldn’t watch a single IG game this season. However, following IG’s triumph in the German Cup, many fans regained hope, believing IG could become the biggest dark horse in the LPL. Yet, what shattered many fans’ hopes was IG’s consecutive losses to WBG and AL early in the season, dropping them to the bottom tier of the LPL.

During the match against AL, IG’s new top laner Soboro’s performance frustrated many fans. In this BO3 series, whether playing tank or bruiser champions, Soboro was a weak link for the team. Particularly in the final game, Soboro’s new top lane pick, Yaeheon, was utterly dominated by Saint’s Sion. By the end of the match, Soboro’s Yaeheon had a 0-5 scoreline with no kills or assists. This poor showing made many fans long for TheShy’s return, and the hashtag “TheShy’s urgent comeback” even trended on social media.

Following IG’s two losses, some fans called for the management to replace mid laner Rookie with Renard, the mid who helped secure the German Cup title, to start in the upcoming matches. On the other hand, many Rookie supporters argued that Rookie was forced to carry a losing team, as IG’s rookie top laner and bot laner “Xiao P” were repeatedly outmatched in lane. Especially in the last game, despite Xiao P’s early lead, he contributed little to team fights.

The strongest Galaxy Battleship in the LPL has left fans disappointed.

After BLG’s crushing loss in the German Cup, many LPL viewers believed BLG’s strength was greatly overrated. However, several insiders pointed out that BLG’s poor results were due to their mid laner Left Hand not playing. Even Left Hand himself admitted that if he started, he could lead BLG to the championship. Therefore, many fans eagerly anticipate BLG’s performance this new season, especially since during the offseason many viewers and commentators praised BLG as currently the strongest Galaxy Battleship in the LPL.

However, after BLG’s opening match against WBG, many LPL fans felt let down by BLG’s performance. Before the match, many commentators and viewers expected BLG to easily crush WBG, but those who watched the BO3 know the games were very close. In fact, many viewers believed that if WBG had played a bit more cautiously, they might have defeated BLG head-on.

Throughout this BO3, most viewers were dissatisfied with BLG’s bot laner AD player VIPER’s form. Before the match, many believed VIPER was BLG’s absolute core star. Yet, many ELK fans argued that VIPER’s current performance was similar to ELK’s past form. In the first game, ELK dominated VIPER in both lane and team fights, and some fans even joked that if the AD roles were swapped in the third game, ELK could still lead his team to victory.