The EWC Oil Cup group stage for League of Legends has started. On the first day, every LPL team among the three participants won their debut. BLG took on MKOI, with Bin targeting the enemy top laner and Knight's Akali running rampant across the map, making BLG's advancement to the second round a breeze. Viper picked Cassiopeia in that game, yet he was still pressured in lane; getting outclassed by a European AD indicates that Viper's current state is definitely problematic.

AL was the only LPL team to face a Korean opponent in the first round. In this BO1, Saint (Flandre) perfectly demonstrated how stabilizing the top lane and playing for the team can win games. DK first-picked Jayce, while Saint countered with Shen to absorb pressure. By seven minutes, he was already 20 CS down in the top lane, but Shen didn't give any openings—he even avoided minions when sensing danger, waiting for teammates to gank. With several ultimate and teleport plays, his mid-game impact was maximized.

The match ended at 35 minutes, with Saint finishing 10/1 while the opposing Siwoo on Jayce went 1/8. After watching this game, Bin should understand what pressure absorption and teamwork mean. JDG's first opponent was LYON, a top-three team from MSI. Everyone expected JDG to stumble, but LYON got crushed instead. JDG played steady macro, snowballing the game to a 22:7 kill differential by 30 minutes and destroying LYON's base.

All three LPL teams winning their first matches immediately made TES look even more clownish. Strangely enough, TSW—the team that sent TES home at MSI—was beaten badly by SEN, the fifth-ranked team in the North American Spring Split. A Vietnamese team losing to a non-top NA team? And TES actually lost a BO5 to them? It's hard to even comment. Meanwhile, the LCP region has a 3-20 record in international matches this year.

In other words, the only wins TSW has this year are those three against TES. Looking at it this way, TES looks even more ridiculous. After TSW lost their first match and dropped to the lower bracket, they faced Europe's KC. The teams battled through three games, and KC eventually won, sending TSW home after just one series. A top-six team from MSI gets eliminated in the first round of the Oil Cup—doesn't that make MSI's prestige seem lower than expected?

Besides TSW, another MSI quarterfinalist, FRU, also had a first-round exit in the Oil Cup. In their opener against G2, FRU got demolished. Later, they faced ShowMaker and were toyed with again. However, compared to other teams, the Brazilian MSI team was already the weakest—they didn't win a single small game in two BO5s at MSI. Additionally, LYON, after being crushed by JDG, dropped to the lower bracket and surprisingly lost to the Brazilian team LOS.

LYON was arguably ranked third at MSI—they even went five games against HLE. Yet against an unknown Brazilian team, they got swept. It's hard to tell whether MSI's quality is low or LYON simply didn't care about winning. Based on their performance, it leans toward the latter, because Inspired in that subsequent BO3 was clearly throwing games—he seemed like he wanted a break.

The next matches for LPL teams in the winners' bracket are all tough encounters: JDG vs. HLE, AL vs. G2, and BLG vs. T1. These winners' bracket games are BO1, where the winner advances directly. BO1 matches are prone to upsets, so any outcome is possible. Even if they lose the second round, there's still a chance to qualify through the lower bracket. As long as they play steadily in the subsequent BO3s, all three LPL teams can advance.

Conclusion:

JDG and AL have indeed performed much better internationally than TES. It's a pity these two teams didn't perform well in the playoffs and missed out on MSI—otherwise, LPL wouldn't have looked so embarrassing. Hopefully, in the next split, JDG and AL will step up. With four World Championship slots, both teams should at least make it to Worlds.

So, do you think LPL can maintain a perfect record in the third round?

Feel free to leave a comment and discuss!