The first round of the LPL Spring Split playoffs winners' bracket has concluded. On the previous match day, BLG and WBG clashed in the lower bracket. The substantial disparity in their capabilities meant few spectators backed WBG, with the consensus being a BLG victory. This prediction held true, yet the shock came from WBG's complete inability to fight back, losing every game without a win and getting eliminated by a clean BLG sweep.

The first game of this BO5 was relatively competitive. Jiejie dominated the early game tempo, securing the Soul point drake by the 18-minute mark. However, in subsequent team fights, WBG made frequent mistakes with players getting caught out, allowing BLG to stall their Soul rhythm. In the late game, although WBG lost two lanes, their composition was scaling into power. BLG attempted to end with a Baron buff but not only lost the fight, they nearly got aced by WBG.

ELK proved to be the perennial unlucky player again. In a crucial 31-minute team fight, BLG's mid, jungle, and support were all eliminated. As Xiaohu drove after enemies with his ultimate, ELK got stuck on the edge of the Ryze portal. Clicking his mouse outward caused him to miss the teleport (a known bug). This mistake directly cost WBG their chance to turn the game. Had ELK boarded the portal, he could have at least secured a kill on Bin. Moreover, the next drake was only 5 seconds from spawning, which would have granted them the Soul.

It seems WBG just had poor luck. Without the bug, they likely would have secured at least one game win. The following two matches became one-sided. In game two, WBG's bottom lane and jungle collapsed in under 5 minutes, with the kill score at 5:1 and a nearly 2k gold deficit, effectively ending the game early. The third game was even more extreme: ELK got killed in lane early, followed by failed skirmishes in the bottom side, resulting in a 4:0 kill lead and over 2k gold disadvantage for BLG around the 4-minute mark.

The final two games were pure one-sided stomps. WBG's bottom lane and jungle kept losing 3v3 fights repeatedly. Their mid and top laners were still in the laning phase, not even reaching level 6, before the game was essentially over. While a skill gap was expected between the teams, its magnitude was shocking. In this BO5, Zhao "Big Brother" was thoroughly outclassed by Viper, consistently losing lane and dealing incomparably less team fight damage, even getting MVP'd by the very ADC who replaced him.

Both are All-Chinese rosters, but while JDG keeps improving, WBG is different. They showed promise in the regular season, but their playoff performance has declined match after match. Continuing like this, WBG will likely stop at 6th place. Xiaohu also rediscovered his comedic flair this series; in game two, his Rumble's Rocket Belt dash straight into an Ashe arrow had both casters and viewers in stitches.

After defeating WBG, BLG advanced to the winners' bracket final. If they beat JDG next, BLG will secure a spot in the grand final and clinch the LPL's first MSI qualification. Knight has a strong record in winners' finals: in his career, he has reached this stage 9 times, winning 5 of them—each win led to a league championship. Of the remaining 4 losses, he dropped to the losers' bracket but fought back to the grand final all 3 times, though those runs ended in runner-up finishes.

Following their loss, WBG drops to the second round of the losers' bracket. Their next opponent will be the winner of WE vs. Top Esports. That match-up holds little suspense; Top Esports took JDG to a full five games, so they are unlikely to lose to WE. If Top Esports advances, WBG will be in serious danger. Given WBG's current form, facing Top Esports would be a struggle, and they might even get upset and bow out at 6th place.

Conclusion:

Player ELK seems to have an unlucky streak. Every season, or every split, he encounters some bug. Last year during the Summer Split playoffs against JDG, ON's Leona E went into a wall, causing tower aggro to switch and resulting in ELK getting killed during a dive attempt. Honestly, how can one person be so unlucky?

So, do you think WBG can defeat Top Esports now?

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!