The first stage playoffs of the LPL have officially started. On the last match day, the upper bracket kicked off with JD Gaming and Top Esports fighting through a full five-game series. Ultimately, JD narrowly edged out Top to move on to the winners' bracket second round. Their games were indeed very “thrilling.” JD usually secured an early advantage, particularly in the bot lane, dominating the lane phase, but as the games progressed, some players made errors that allowed the enemy to reverse the situation.

Across the five matches, no JD player consistently carried the team. Even Gazi, despite gaining advantages, gave away several crucial kills. Though there were flaws, winning is what matters in the end. On Top’s side, 369 was somewhat responsible for the losses. His Gragas in the first game seemed busy but ineffective, and his picks like Gangplank and Rumble in the second game were more like passive wins. The last two games were even worse, with Jayce being repeatedly caught.

Even with Naru’s help, there was no carry. Summing up the whole series, it perfectly fits Karsa’s famous saying: Jayce was caught like a dog, and Gragas played terribly. It’s hard to imagine a top laner having little impact across five games straight. If he could have made one or two clutch plays, Top might have won. The other teammates had mixed performances, some carrying while others feeding. Xiaonaiyou played relatively steadily, but after five games, losing wasn’t really shameful.

Another match on the same day was AL versus WE, which resembled a bot match. AL dominated the entire time, sweeping 3-0 in a quick series. WE had no chance to fight back. The total duration for all three games was 74 minutes, averaging about 24 minutes per game. In the current meta, no game lasts beyond 30 minutes, which is quite extreme. It was expected that WE couldn’t beat AL, but the extent of the defeat was surprising.

In LPL BO5 history, only one match was faster than WE’s loss: during the S11 Spring Split, Suning defeated Li-Ning in just 73 minutes and 26 seconds. In this match, WE had no advantage on any lane; their performance was consistently poor. After crushing his former team, Shanks showed no mercy in the post-match interview. When asked to comment on Cube, Shanks bluntly said: “Weak.”

After AL and JDG both won, the two teams will face each other in the second round of the winners' bracket. The winner will advance directly to the winners' finals. Both Shanks and Hope, who coached the upcoming opponents, expressed confidence in winning. Given the current form of both teams, AL has a higher chance of beating JDG. However, nothing is certain, especially since WE is the weakest among the playoff teams.

After their defeats, Top Esports and WE both dropped into the losers' bracket, now teetering on the edge. The team that loses next will be eliminated in the quarterfinals. There is a skill gap between these two teams; Top is more likely to win, but whether they can fight their way out of the losers' bracket remains uncertain. Meanwhile, the lower bracket’s next match between BLG and NIP is about to start. BLG is expected to win easily, probably sweeping NIP 3-0 if they maintain good form.

The match between WBG and IG is harder to predict. WBG has a better chance of winning than IG, both in terms of raw strength and current team condition. Since the latter half of the regular season, IG’s form has deteriorated. Although they are a peak-level team, honestly, their strength is comparable only to WE and NIP. Based on their performance in the qualifiers, IG is even weaker than NIP.

Conclusion:

At the start of the playoffs, WE set a new record for the shortest BO5 match in nearly five years. If AL hadn’t made a few mistakes, WE might have taken first place. Considering this, Shanks and Hope still showed some respect to their former team. No wonder AL chose WE previously, as Shanks said: “If you pick, you get.”

So, what do you think? Can IG beat WBG?

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