The second week of the LPL second stage intra-group matches has kicked off. On the last match day, Rebirth Group teams TT and UP debuted. TT clinched their first stage win after just two games. After this match, all six Rebirth Group teams have debuted. TT, EDG, and LGD opened with 1-0 records, while LNG, UP, and OIMG are all 0-1, missing their opening win and must strive harder in the future.

Another match featured IG versus WBG, with one team at 3-0 and the other at 0-3. Before the match, viewers thought it was a no-contest, expecting IG to secure a fourth straight win. However, Weibo staged a stunning comeback, defying those who doubted them. Watching the whole match, IG actually had a strong chance to win 2:0 directly. In the first game, by 17 minutes, IG had a 7:1 kill lead, dominating across the map and crushing in team fights.

The second game was evenly matched, with both teams battling fiercely. The most crucial team fight saw Meiko's Ice Bird Q hit Zhao, and Wei's three-shot combo instantly killed the AD. IG scored a 0-for-4 trade here. Many viewers had already left the stream by this point, as Jiejie alone couldn't defend the base. But while pushing the base, the situation suddenly reversed: Weibo defended their home with the crystal at just over 200 HP.

After defending, Weibo won a team fight and took down IG. Reviewing the base-push operation, Breathe truly committed a grave error. He used his melee form to attack the tower while Jiejie was nearby and activated his W, causing minion aggro to shift to Breathe. He tanked the tower and died. If he hadn't used W or switched to ranged form for a couple more attacks, IG would have had time to destroy the base.

Coach Helper, watching from the rest room, was visibly furious at the players' actions. From Daeny to Helper, these two Korean coaches who have led IG teams are quite interesting. Despite the second-game comeback, IG's morale wasn't heavily affected. Wei had a full early-game tempo, achieving a 5:1 lead within 5 minutes, with the mid-lane LeBlanc alone taking 3 kills and 2 assists.

Normally, a LeBlanc with such a fat start should dominate mid-game, but Renard was solo-killed by Xiaohu right after returning to lane. Subsequent team fights also went poorly for IG, and with Breathe giving opportunities, IG ended up with a kill lead but an economic deficit. Both teams' top laners were outrageous this game: Breathe was useless throughout, and Zika, when he had combat power, ran in alone to die. Jiejie got so frustrated he started reviewing the play live.

"When you flank, you need to check with me, okay?" Zika was also outrageous, replying: "I felt you would win." Veteran Xiaohu, seeing Jiejie was upset, quickly smoothed things: "Did your heart race when you died? Winning is fine." Honestly, both top laners in this BO3 were truly abstract; both were mainly useless. Zika's pointless sacrifice let Weibo win 4v5—that's pure negative impact.

A match IG could have won 2:0 ended in a reverse sweep by the opponent. After the match, "war criminal" Breathe directly posted self-criticism: "Choked this time, will do better next time." Since he already took responsibility, further blame is excessive. Render also performed quite average in this BO3; in the latter two games, he was outplayed by Xiaohu. Against top-tier mids, Xiaohu might fade, but against such confident newcomers, Tiger still has his methods.

Conclusion:

After three consecutive losses, Weibo finally secured their first win. Just changing one support caused team strength to plummet. Winning against IG relied entirely on opponents' mistakes. To directly qualify for playoffs, the team really needs thorough review and problem-solving. For IG, it's actually fine; losing one after a winning streak helps identify team issues more easily.

So, how do you think WBG performed?

Feel free to leave comments and discuss!