Introduction: The S16 season has officially started, and it’s believed that the vast majority of players have been paying attention to the recent confrontations. The LPL region’s matches have been highly competitive. As the playoffs begin, the high-stakes elimination rounds have become the center of attention for the entire online community. Despite the existence of the resurrection mechanic, it probably won’t greatly impact the overall LPL landscape. Before the matches began, the first stage awards for the LPL region were also officially announced, and the results left many fans disappointed. Even the top AD player Uzi openly expressed on his livestream how all the honors went to Korean players, feeling that the LPL region has now been dominated by Korean imports, with the best coach, rookie, and MVP all being Korean players.

Uzi’s sharp critique of the LPL awards ceremony

Most players are quite familiar with the LPL region. Once a world-class top-tier league, the LPL’s overall development has been unstable in recent years, with relatively average results. This is mainly due to the retirement of many veteran players, causing the LPL’s popularity to decline rapidly. A large number of sponsors have withdrawn, leading to widespread financial deficits in the region. Many teams have been tightening their budgets and cutting internal expenses, resulting in only one team’s performance declining steadily, income shrinking, and falling into a vicious cycle. Before the playoffs started, the first stage awards ceremony of the LPL became a hot topic among many netizens.

First, the MVP, well known to everyone, was awarded to Tarzan, the jungler of the AL team, which was expected since his performance has been very consistent. Over the past two years, Tarzan has been arguably the best jungler in the LPL, showing very few mistakes and always giving his best effort. The Best Rookie award went to About from the WE team. Honestly, About was the main reason WE made it to the playoffs. His performance in the group stage was very strong, fully taking on the role of the team’s leader. As long as he develops normally, WE generally wins their matches.

The Best Coaching Staff award went to AL team, which is reasonable since AL ranked first in the regular season. It would have been strange if the award went to another team. The Best Lineup picks were relatively fair: Top lane was AL’s Saint, jungle was AL’s Tarzan, mid lane was BLG’s Knight, AD carry was WBG’s Elk, and support was AL’s Kael. The most debated spot was the second team’s top lane, where many felt JDG’s Xiaoxu was more consistent than BLG’s Bin. AL’s AD player Hope was placed on the third team, which makes sense as he is considered the team’s weakest link. The three sets of best lineups were dominated by the top four teams in the league.

After watching the awards ceremony, Uzi sharply criticized it, laughing wildly and bluntly questioning, "What is this? Why are they all Korean?" Indeed, the Best Rookie, Best Coach, and MVP were all Korean players, with no domestic players among them. Those unaware might have thought this was an LCK awards ceremony. This fully reflects the current state of the LPL. Without Korean imports, the LPL might easily fall to the fourth region. After all, we earned that "honor" at last year's Rift Rivals. No wonder major sponsors have left — who would support a region with no achievements?

Farewell thoughts

Honestly, I think Uzi’s opinion is completely valid. All three top awards went to Korean players, including the coaching staff, which is also Korean. The LPL officials really need to reflect on this. We once thought that winning the World Championship in S8 would mark the beginning of a new era for the LPL, with three titles to follow and increasing success. Instead, it became the last dance. After veteran players retired, the LPL fell sharply. Without top Korean imports, it’s impossible to win the championship.

What do you all think about this situation?