The third week of the LPL second stage group competition is nearing its conclusion. On the last match day, NIP, who had previously shut out BLG, faced TES in peak form. The teams played just two games, and TES shut out NIP, claiming their sixth victory in this stage. The young top-laner Zuian was exceptionally impressive in this BO3; Wolf-Mother aggressively focused Asam in team fights, and the Blind Monk achieved a lane solo kill before three minutes, making Hoya spin like a whirlwind.

After this match, one can truly say goodbye to old ninth place. Current TES feels almost flawless; their top, mid, and bottom lanes all exert lane pressure, and even when not optimal, at least two lanes can step up. With teammates all in advantage, Tian also plays comfortably, orchestrating various plays. Could TES be the true king of this stage? Except for the opening loss to IG, TES has now six consecutive wins, each a 2:0 victory.

The other two matches on the same day were JDG vs WE and WBG vs AL. The first one seems hardly worth discussing; let's focus on the latter. Both WBG and AL have been somewhat sluggish recently, and before the match, it was unclear whether AL or WBG would win. The result matched expectations: the teams played three full games before deciding a winner. AL secured their fourth stage win while helping WBG plunge to the bottom.

WBG's issues remain as before: top lane is weak, unable to pressure veteran Saint Gun in lane; Jiejie still obsessively farms jungle. If he hadn't suddenly awakened in the decisive game, actively creating plays early, this BO3 would hardly redeem him. Bottom lane Hang remains consistently poor; ELK wanting advantage finds little recourse. Even with jungle assistance, Zhao Da-ge in team fights still underperforms; honestly, his problems are significant too.

Comparing WBG's dual carries, Xiaohu truly disappoints. Even with a big early advantage, he ends up behind in gold. In the decisive game, WBG gained a substantial early lead: Jiejie ganked bottom, helping ELK secure first blood, then twice ganked mid, killing Xiangkes. A LeBlanc starting 1-0-1 did nothing, just farming alongside Xiangkes; gradually, mid lane fell behind in gold. Xiaohu's team fight performance was even more baffling.

Before each team fight, Hu Zi was already half-health; after recalling and TP-ing back, he'd engage once and drop to half-health again. By 32 minutes, AL led WBG by only 5.1K gold, yet mid-laner Xiaohu alone trailed by 5K. With two early dragons and mid/bottom advantage, WBG inexplicably lost three consecutive dragons. Xiangkes starting 0-2 still contributed fully; Xiaohu with kills never once supported his teammates.

When Jiejie buried himself in farming, Xiaohu would try to make plays; but this game when the jungler had momentum, Xiaohu stayed passive. Though everyone performed poorly, mid lane being utterly outmatched in pre-fight poking, team fight damage, and cleanup situations is truly unacceptable. Seems the old Haki Hu can only bully a 0-7-starting, unable-to-win-a-single-game Karis; against any mid-laner with real skill, Xiaohu can't compete.

After the match, many viewers called for Xiaohu's retirement, showing how ugly his BO3 performance was. If this were against a top-tier team, such display might be understandable, but AL also played poorly. Hope was almost always behind Zhao Da-ge in gold each game, and AL's form resembled before. WBG losing to them really leaves no excuse; seems in the second round, they'll join WE scrambling for scraps.

Conclusion:

WBG's top and support are truly peculiar. Saint Gun against other tops is usually suppressed, but even with teammate help, Zika couldn't pressure him. Hang is even worse; among Peak Group supports, none more abstract than him. Last stage, WBG was third in playoffs; unexpectedly, this stage they've slumped so severely.

So, who do you think is WBG's biggest problem?

Welcome to discuss in comments!