TES is acknowledged as the "domestic league expert" in the LPL, often referred to as an "LPL little king-level team." Many viewers believe BLG might not stand against TES in league matches. Yet, a surprising event occurred for LPL fans: TES was knocked out by IG with a 2-0 defeat in the recent EWC loser bracket qualifiers. Since TES was in the loser bracket, this loss directly cost them their chance to advance in the Esports World Cup.

After TES lost to IG, many viewers began reassessing IG's potential ceiling. Some even think IG's rise to the top of LPL isn't accidental, as in this BO3, TES was completely overwhelmed. TES's rookie top laner Zuian was consistently pressured by Breathe, while TES's core jungler Tian was thoroughly read by IG's jungler Wei. Tian was outperformed in both early ganks and farming, and TES's strongest lane, mid laner Cream, couldn't break through the opponent solo.

The main reason TES lost to IG was their bot lane being "targeted and defeated" by IG's bot duo. Many viewers didn't expect IG's current AD Jiaqi, paired with support Meiko, to have such strong lane dominance, completely crushing JKL and Fengyue. Across two games, JKL and Fengyue were repeatedly killed in lane by IG's bot lane. Even veteran streamer Crystal remarked that in current matches, whichever team gains bot lane priority tends to win more easily, citing JDG's top laner XiaoXu playing Rek'Sai 0/4/0 and still winning yesterday.

After TES's loss, many fans protested on TES's official blog, criticizing support Fengyue for being too weak, which hindered JKL's lane control and advantage. Many TES fans hope management will replace Fengyue. Indeed, TES's new support Fengyue isn't strong enough, showing many flaws against LPL's top soft support king Meiko. Do you think TES should replace Fengyue in the future?

Faker reported for "tax evasion"

Recently, LCK also had a big scandal: an LCK viewer reported Faker for "tax evasion." This incident attracted attention from all LCK media and fans, with some media claiming Faker was summoned recently. As the report grew, Faker's agency and Korean tax authorities issued statements clarifying the situation. According to official announcements, Faker's agency did forget to pay tax late fees for two months in 2023, but Faker had already settled them long ago. Currently, Faker has no "tax evasion" issues.

After officials cleared Faker, many T1 fans noticed that posts reporting Faker's "tax evasion" were linked to GEN's official blog. This discovery angered T1 fans, with some suspecting GEN fans deliberately used Faker to divert attention from Ruler, whose public image is poor. Others believe GEN fans' actions put Ruler "back on the hot grill," as Ruler's case was quietly handled by LCK officials, but now media and fans are discussing it again due to the Faker reports.

Conclusion

As LCK's star representative, Faker's character is unquestionable. Some T1 fans note that Faker receiving the Blue Dragon Medal proves he has no issues. Do you think Ruler might face an LCK official ban? After all, Ruler's incident happened long ago, yet LCK hasn't announced any punishment.