Preface: The S16 season matches have officially started, and most players have been paying close attention to the recent confrontations. The LCK playoffs have been quite intense, and the match results between DRX and NS teams shocked many fans. NS was swept 3-0 with no chance to fight back. Scout, who just returned from studying abroad, couldn't hold on and was ruthlessly crushed by Ucal. As a result, among the world championship finals MVPs of the past five years, only Faker remains; all other players have been eliminated. During a recent livestream, Bang and Wolf also sharply criticized Uzi, bluntly stating that back then they ignored all ADCs because none performed well, and Uzi really wasn't good.

Bang harshly judged Uzi's performance back then as truly poor

Most players have been very attentive to the recent LCK matches. The first phase of their competition produced some bizarre results. The defending champions HLE team couldn't even get past the group stage and were eliminated directly in a BO3 series, finishing last in the league. With the BO5 qualifiers underway, NS's performance became a hot topic among many LPL fans. After all, their mid laner Scout just returned from studying in the LPL region, stirring up huge discussions and costing millions in compensation to come back to LCK. People expected the world champion to lead the team to some good results, but instead, they were swept 3-0 and eliminated.

In the first game, DRX gained early kills in the river and steadily extended their economic lead, controlling the entire pace of the game. In the second game, they further expanded their advantage through lane kills in the bot lane. The AD position's economy lead exceeded 4000 gold, with a kill score of 23-7, and the game ended after only 32 minutes. By the third game, NS completely collapsed and was thoroughly dominated. The impact on their mentality from the first two games was probably too great. Ultimately, they suffered a shocking upset, being swept 3-0 by DRX and entering the off-season early.

After the match, an awkward scene emerged: among the past five years' world championship finals MVPs, only mid laner Faker advanced to the playoffs. The other four players—Scout from S11 EDG, Kingen from S12 DRX, and Gumayusi and Zues from S14 and S15 T1—were all eliminated. Perhaps the most surprising is that after jungler Xiaotian took a break, there are no MVP players left in the LPL region. Such a gap is truly irreparable, making it hard to imagine what the LPL region can compete with LCK in the S16 world championship.

In a recent livestream, Bang and Wolf openly shared their views on ADC players and directly criticized Uzi. They said they even ignored Chinese ADCs at the time because none played well, including Uzi. They felt that Uzi was really not good back then, and his peak was probably around the S8 season. Although many insiders in LPL are reluctant to admit it, they have to acknowledge that in the past, Bang generally outperformed Uzi in their matchups. Over many interviews, Bang has never recognized Uzi's skill, though Uzi had more popularity and hype than players like Imp. It seems they both hold some resentment towards Uzi—despite having better results, they didn't earn as much as him.

Farewell thoughts

Who would have thought that the current LCK competition would become like this? It already felt shocking that HLE finished last and was eliminated, but DRX sweeping NS 3-0 is even more surprising. This year’s matches contain many uncertainties; even the stronger teams might make mistakes. This might give the LPL region a glimmer of hope—could the top teams slip up in world-class clashes?

What do all the viewers think about this situation?