LPL receives bad news as the China-Korea showdown falls apart! DK easily crushes JDG, dimming IG’s hopes of advancing

Hello to all LPL fans and League of Legends summoners, this is Tianxia Game Report.

The S15 World Championship will kick off in one week, and today the first Asia showdown officially began, featuring the highly awaited China-Korea matchup between the fifth seeds.

LPL received bad news as JDG was easily overwhelmed and defeated by DK.

China-Korea showdown collapses, DK dominates effortlessly

In this Asia showdown, both the LCK and LPL regions have three teams participating. LPL’s representatives are JDG, WBG, and NIP, while LCK’s teams are DK, BFX, and NS. This created a so-called “group of death” with JDG, WBG, DK, and GAM all placed in the same group.

The opening match was DK versus JDG, a game that LPL fans were highly interested in. On one hand, everyone wanted to see the showdown between Xuzi and Scout. This year, Xuzi has been considered the region’s star player, while Scout has been nicknamed the “LPL Xuzi” due to his underwhelming performance.

On the other hand, fans wanted to see which region’s fifth seed would come out on top in this China-Korea battle. Later, IG will face T1 in a do-or-die match, so the DK vs JDG game also serves as a useful reference.

In the end, DK swept JDG 2-0 with ease, which is undoubtedly bad news for the LPL.

Actually, JDG performed quite well in the early and mid stages of the first game, even gaining a significant lead. Especially jungler Xun’s Xin Zhao was on fire, setting the pace with a successful gank on the bot lane, then quickly coordinating with teammates to secure a large kill advantage.

First game overturned, second game completely collapses

The jungler had the tempo advantage, and in the first Rift Herald fight, DK’s flank failed and JDG managed a 2-for-0 exchange. Despite this, DK chose to break through from the top lane where JDG’s defense was weak. Xiaoxu died repeatedly, the support’s overextension actually harmed the crocodile champion, and poor judgment on the enemy’s movements led to two more deaths.

The pivotal moment for the comeback was during the Rift Herald fight when Xun was caught without flash and got eliminated.

Following that, Xun made consecutive mistakes, dying after being caught in the jungle, then dying again after invading the enemy jungle. After multiple deaths, JDG’s situation collapsed. Lucid’s Lee Sin then took off, turning the game around, and ShowMaker’s LeBlanc, who had been quiet, also rose to prominence and secured the victory.

In the second game, JDG started well again, with mid and jungle securing first blood and the support making an impressive play to get a 2-for-0 trade. However, a crucial team fight over objectives was seized by DK, who turned it into a 4-for-2 exchange, causing JDG to completely fall apart. Despite many spear throws from Kai’Sa, the opposing Jarvan managed to steal key objectives, allowing DK to easily control the game and claim the win.

Editor’s note

Honestly, the match outcome was quite surprising, as DK is not generally known for strong late-game play, but JDG performed even worse.

JDG’s team riddled with flaws, IG’s chances grow slim

To summarize this BO3 simply, I believe JDG—or more broadly, the LPL region—often struggles in world tournaments due to weak defensive capabilities. The phrase “full of holes” perfectly describes their defense. Their offense might work at times, but their defense is always vulnerable to being exploited and collapsing.

Regular viewers of the world championships know that the biggest taboo against facing LCK teams is making mistakes and having a high error rate. Once the mistakes pile up and LCK gains the lead, it’s often a downward spiral to defeat.

After JDG was swept, IG’s situation also became more dire. Their upcoming match against T1 looks increasingly bleak. Compared to JDG, IG’s strength lies in stronger mid-to-late game team fighting and having players who can step up, with their current strongest core being GALA.

You could say IG’s win over JDG basically came down to GALA’s performance. In the upcoming match against T1, GALA will definitely be targeted, so IG must try to maximize GALA’s strengths while other players step up to support the team. With the global draft mode, GALA might struggle to find suitable champions later on, and there’s a risk the game ends before he can fully impact. These are key issues IG’s coaching staff needs to study carefully.