Introduction: The S16 season matches have officially started, and most players have been paying attention to the recent battles. The LPL region's contests are very fierce, and judging by the overall situation so far, last season was highly popular. The IG team has encountered some issues and was mercilessly crushed by NIP. If not for their mistakes in the first game, this series likely would have ended in a 3-0 sweep. Fortunately, IG is a top-tier team with a revival chance, so they can still fight back. However, it seems this elite team is on the verge of collapse, completely lacking any competitive strength.

IG team has completely fallen.

Most players are quite familiar with IG, a veteran powerhouse in the LPL region. Over the past few years, their overall popularity and hype have been very high. Last season, they assembled a top-tier all-star lineup and achieved remarkable results, securing the 4th seed in the LPL. Although they were directly eliminated by T1 in the World Championship, fans were still satisfied with their performance. In this season's transfer window, IG had money but failed to acquire desired players, leaving only mid-laner Rookie and jungler Wei. Despite being a top-tier team, their results have been disappointing, dropping to the bottom of the standings.

It was expected that their Knight’s journey would go more smoothly this time, but unexpectedly, they were swept by NIP. In the first game, NIP played very cautiously, giving IG no chance early on and even pushing to their base shortly after 20 minutes. Despite NIP's huge early lead, they suffered a comeback, with their economic advantage once reaching nearly 12,000. It felt like watching gods battle. In the second game, NIP gave IG no opportunity, with an almost godlike Draven completely crushing IG’s hopes. The last two games were similar, and the entire series felt like the rankings were reversed, with NIP looking more like a top-tier team.

Honestly, Rookie seemed to have given up on the match. In the first game, his Elise made many mistakes, with multiple ultimates dodged by the opponent. Even when the enemy pushed the bottom lane, he was busy pushing top lane minions, only teleporting back after his teammates had died. If NIP had been more ruthless in that moment, the game might have ended then. Across these matches, the reality is a 4-0 sweep, showing a clear skill gap in this BO5. No one expected that last season’s godlike IG would face such huge problems this season.

Next up, two more BO5 matches will take place: LNG versus TT, and EDG versus OMG. These matchups are crucial, as the losing teams will be directly eliminated. EDG seems to be struggling this season as well, with a 4-2 record but missing out on the revival chance due to tiebreakers. The return of their star player, Chuan, hasn’t brought much improvement. Whenever EDG seems ready to give up, they call Chuan back to maximize fan support. Hopefully, the upcoming Knight’s journey matches will be more exciting.

Farewell thoughts.

Last season’s all-star team has completely collapsed this season. IG can’t even beat NIP, and they were thoroughly dominated. It feels like neither the top nor bottom lanes fit well with the team, especially the bottom lane. Photic really seems unsuitable to continue competing in the LPL; he will likely retire after this season.

What do all of you viewers think about this situation?