The LOL Asia Invitational group stage is approaching its last day. Following two prior losses against LCK, the all-Chinese team WBG went up against DK. Many anticipated LPL would start 0-3 because Weibo had recently lost to JDG and looked shaky. However, Weibo bounced back impressively, shutting out DK 2-0 in a rapid victory, marking LPL’s opening win over LCK.

While Weibo just regained some pride, looking elsewhere, JDG and NIP have already embarrassed themselves against Vietnamese teams. JDG suffered a shocking 0-3 sweep by GAM, setting a new humiliating record. Previously, our region only lost to Vietnamese teams in BO1 matches: in S7 Mid-Season Invitational group stage, WE lost to GAM; in S12 Worlds group stage, TES lost to GAM. But losing a BO3 series is a first in history.

Losing is one thing, but the worst part is JDG didn’t even win a single game. After the match, GAM’s official account mocked: “Seed 4 > Seed 5.” Our region has always been the top league second only to LCK, while before joining the LCP, Vietnam was considered a wildcard region. Although now part of the big five regions, Vietnam’s overall strength is still not on par with ours.

To put it bluntly, a team from LPL that almost qualified for Worlds was soundly beaten by a wildcard team. Luckily, the Invitational only involves three regions; otherwise, LPL might have set an even more ridiculous record this year. NIP defeated Vietnamese team MVKE 2-1, but their victory was tainted because in the third game, at 29 minutes, MVKE experienced network issues.

The jungler, AD carry, and mid laner all disconnected and left the game. NIP seized the opportunity to kill MVKE’s mid and jungle and then took Baron. Before this team fight started, MVKE was ahead in kills, gold, and had stopped dragons, so under normal circumstances, MVKE had a strong chance to win. However, after the disconnection, the officials did not choose to rewind or restart, allowing NIP to win due to network problems.

Watching this BO3, it’s clear that although NIP won, it’s a shameful victory. They only won because the opponent had network issues, so it might have been better not to win at all. After this loss, MVKE’s record fell to 0-2, and regardless of the last match’s result, they lost all hope of advancing to playoffs. MVKE’s players posted afterward: “We lost due to uncontrollable factors. Let’s accept reality. We played well, brothers; we are honorable in defeat.”

After defeating DK, Weibo’s record improved to 2-1. With only three matches played, 2 points already guarantee advancement. Also advancing to playoffs is BFX with a 2-0 record. JDG’s loss to GAM leaves them at 1-2, same as MVKE, confirming their elimination. The remaining three matches: BFX vs MVKE won’t affect advancement; the winners of DK vs GAM and NIP vs NS will advance to the playoffs.

Although DK lost to Weibo, their win over GAM is almost certain. Teams like JDG are becoming rare. As for NIP, they most likely can’t beat NS. Even the weakest team among the eight, MVKE, managed to push to three games and only won thanks to disconnection. Facing an LCK team, they would likely be crushed. NIP’s best hope was to win a single game against NS, which would already be considered a success.

Conclusion:

Although the ASI is just an exhibition, JDG’s performance was shocking. Being swept by DK was bad enough, but then getting completely dominated by GAM is worse. Could the “Inner Battle Phantom” reputation from their internal scrims have carried over to JDG? They hit their own teammates hard but were timid against outside region teams. After this Invitational, JDG will definitely disband. With this level of skill, no changes mean they’ll still be weak next year.

So, do you think NIP’s win was respectable?

Feel free to leave your comments and join the discussion!