After a three-day break, the LCK first split playoffs are set to restart. DNS, now in the losers' bracket, will battle DRX in a best-of-five match, with the victor advancing to face DK. These teams differ somewhat in strength; DNS managed to beat KT and NS in qualifiers and pushed BFX to a full five-game series before losing in playoffs. Even T1 was defeated by BFX. DNS’s ability to endure a full BO5 indicates they might be a surprise contender.

If DRX advances to the second round, DK likely won’t face much trouble, but if they meet DNS, things might get tricky for Xu Ge. Regardless of who wins, they will have to face T1 later on. Making it to the losers' finals will be tough since T1’s players stayed at the training base over the Lunar New Year without going home. If they can regain form, whether it’s DK or DNS, the matches will definitely be intense and competitive.

Doinb signs up for a Dota tournament.

League of Legends world champion mid-laner Doinb retired last year and shifted his main focus from LOL to DOTA. This transition has been quite successful, as his streaming career has experienced a resurgence. To boost entertainment value, Doinb has entered several competitions. He has also registered for the upcoming TI International Invitational in June, though he must first compete in the qualifiers.

Originally, Doinb planned to form a team of five retired League of Legends players to participate, but since players like Baolan are still active in LOL, the team never materialized. However, Doinb himself is likely to continue competing, probably recruiting some retired DOTA pros. Honestly, Big B's Dota skills aren’t very strong, so his participation is probably more for publicity.

TFT Inventor announces relationship.

Former LPL pro player and current TFT Inventor Shen Chao recently officially announced his relationship. On Weibo, Chao shared a photo with his girlfriend, who is also a streamer (Yuanqi Xiaoningmeng), responsible for scoring TFT matches on the platform. They have a significant age gap: Chao was born in 1993 and is 33, while his girlfriend graduated from university in 2002 and is only 24. Love truly knows no age.

Back in the day, this veteran who made T1 ban Crocodile finally achieves success in both career and love. In 2024, Shen Chao was once caught in a fishing scandal by a fellow streamer on the same platform due to his overly honest nature, which even led to a public dispute that drew sympathy. Now, seeing him doing so well makes people a bit envious. Honestly, the two look quite like a couple, with almost identical face shapes.

Riot launches team voice chat feature.

LOL foreign media recently revealed that Riot will introduce a team voice chat function, allowing players to toggle between party and team voice channels. Additionally, a “team voice abuse” option will be added to the reporting interface. The exact release date is still unknown. Frankly, a voice system won’t improve the current gaming environment much; it might even make games harder since toxic arguments are inevitable when players perform poorly.

The national server’s team voice has been tested many times via assistants but always ended abruptly with unsatisfactory results. Most voice chats don’t involve strategic discussion but teammates verbally attacking each other for poor play. Currently, text communication is heavily restricted on the national server, so voice chat will be even more challenging. Other servers might get voice chat, but it’s uncertain for the national server due to its poor environment.

Conclusion:

Doinb’s idea of recruiting retired LOL players to compete in DOTA is really bold. After all, DOTA is a competing game. His transition has gained some attention, but if Baolan and others join, it might backfire, potentially alienating both sides and making it hard to keep earning from LOL.

So, what do you think—will team voice chat be useful?

Feel free to leave your comments and join the discussion!