The LOL Asia Invitational has officially kicked off. On the last match day, two LCK teams in Group B clashed, with BFX and NS fighting through three games, and BFX securing their first win. Meanwhile, in Group A, WBG played against GAM, and JD Gaming faced DK. As anticipated, Weibo swept GAM 2-0. During the drafting phase, Tian revealed TES’s champions and emblem lost to GAM in homage to Top Esports.

The match between DK and JD Gaming drew significant attention. Beforehand, the organizers humorously used a cricket to predict the winner, which crawled towards DK. In the end, DK lived up to the prediction by sweeping JD Gaming 2-0. Watching the whole series, JD Gaming really looked like bots; the BO3 lasted just 57 minutes, not even an hour, as DK swiftly ended the series. Let’s briefly review just how poorly JD Gaming performed.

In the first game, Xu immediately showed his true colors by picking a less powerful version of LeBlanc to lane against Scout’s Azir. At 3 minutes, a 3v3 fight broke out in the bot lane, where JD Gaming traded one for two. After a zero-for-two team fight near the nest, JD Gaming gained a huge early advantage. DK started looking for opportunities mid-game, targeting Xiao Xu’s Renekton and securing some kills to gradually close the gap. Later, Xu aggressively sought openings, and at 28 minutes, a Baron team fight crushed JD Gaming in one decisive push.

In the second game, both teams exchanged blows early on. Lucid ganked top, and Xun ganked mid, both securing kills. JD Gaming led by 1K gold due to laning, but DK controlled the dragons excellently. By 18 minutes, DK forced JD Gaming into a dragon fight with the dragon already secured. Despite JD Gaming having the tower behind them and a 5v4 advantage, only Scout survived. After another collapse, Lucian built a major armor penetration item, and JD Gaming had no chance in the following team fights.

The second game was even faster than the first, with DK pushing JD Gaming’s base in just 25 minutes. While JD Gaming’s laning was decent, their team fighting was chaotic, often giving opponents chances or making mistakes, showing a lack of cohesion. In contrast, DK consistently found opportunities mid-game. The skill gap between the two teams is quite large; among the six teams from China and Korea, JD Gaming is likely at the bottom.

Next up, NIP will face BFX, a match with slim chances of victory. BFX is no weak team; during the qualifiers, they defeated DK 3-2, proving their strength. JD Gaming will have an internal battle against Weibo. If JD wins, they still have a chance to advance (top two qualify). If they lose 0-2, their elimination is certain. Therefore, the next match is a do-or-die game for JD Gaming in the Invitational.

After watching DK dismantle JD Gaming, it’s clear that Xu’s dominance continues. If WBG can’t stop DK, the Invitational’s champion will most likely come from LCK. Currently, in Group A, both DK and WBG have one win each, and another win will secure their playoff spots. Group B is overall weaker, but expecting NIP to defeat BFX and NS seems unrealistic. Although ranked sixth and seventh, these two teams are still very strong.

LPL teams’ attitude towards the Invitational has indeed been lacking. The three LCK teams’ players spent the off-season playing ranked matches on the Korean server to maintain their form. In contrast, JD Gaming’s entire roster, except for Xun who played some ranked games, hasn’t touched the game since the bubble qualifiers ended. Their poor attitude justifies the loss; getting swept by DK and receiving criticism is a consequence JD Gaming has to bear.

Conclusion:

A team with DK’s strength attending the Phoenix Worlds feels somewhat unfair. If GEN hadn’t caused an upset, Xu would also be the fourth seed from LCK. Watching JD Gaming versus DK, it’s clear IG is also in danger. Since T1 managed to eliminate such a strong DK, facing IG might not be too stressful. Our full-strength squad might end up leaving at the round of 17.

So, what do you think? Can Xu’s team win the championship?

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