That is whether the NIP team will "tank" in the third stage.This refers to whether the NIP team will intentionally lose in the third stage.At the start of the transfer period, an insider revealed that NIP had been dismantled, with many core players being snatched up by other "Nirvana teams" and "Summit teams." However, as the LPL transfer period progressed, another insider reported that the NIP owner might not want to tank after all and intends to make another push in the third stage. In the future, NIP's top laner HOYA, support zhuo, and AD carry Assum are likely to stay with the team.

Apart from the mystery surrounding NIP's transfer results, LNG also made big moves during the transfer period. LNG dismissed all of its Korean players and Korean coaching staff, then bought domestic players to form an all-Chinese roster. 1xn and WEIWEI, a former teammate of TheShy, both signed with LNG. Currently, only the mid-laner position is undecided for LNG. After the news of WEIWEI's return to LNG broke, many LNG fans felt disheartened, believing that LNG is preparing to tank in the third stage, given that WEIWEI's performance last year was too erratic.

It is worth noting that after WEIWEI achieved the honor of world runner-up alongside TheShy, his market value skyrocketed, even surpassing that of jungler Tarzan at one point. However, after leaving TheShy, his performance declined year by year. Last year, he even led the entire team straight into the "Nirvana" group. Because of his poor form, WEIWEI was dismissed by LNG management last year. Now that WEIWEI is returning to LNG for a second time, do you think he can lead LNG back to the Summit group?

Nirvana group rules have changed.

Since TheShy announced his return, many LPL viewers have been calling on the LPL management to revise the Nirvana group rules to allow more matches for that group. However, something frustrating for many LPL viewers occurred: the LPL official did modify the Nirvana group rules, but the new competition format is extremely disadvantageous for teams in the Nirvana group. In fact, many viewers joked that if IG can qualify for the World Championship under the new rules, then IG would have the strength to compete for the S16 World Championship title.

An insider revealed that in the LPL third stage, only the top two teams from the Nirvana group will qualify for the Path of the Knight, while the bottom two will be eliminated directly. This means that among the four teams—LNG, NIP, WBG, and IG—only two can compete on the Path of the Knight. Additionally, the rules for the Path of the Knight and the playoffs have changed compared to previous years. Last year, teams that advanced from the Path of the Knight to the playoffs automatically received a "respawn armor" qualification, meaning they could still fight their way back from the loser's bracket even if they lost to a strong team. However, this year's playoffs respawn armor is only available to the top six teams from the Summit group, and the top two teams from the Summit group will skip one round of BO5 in the playoffs.

After the new rules for the third stage were revealed, many viewers considered this good news for IG. Since the Nirvana group is a four-into-two system, and the Path of the Knight and playoffs require winning every match, if IG fails to accumulate enough "World Championship points" during the playoffs, they will be completely excluded from the S16 World Championship. Of course, many viewers also believe that the LPL's new changes are reasonable, as it would indeed be unfair to higher-ranked teams in the regular season if all teams in the playoffs had a "respawn armor."

Conclusion

Which team do you think will advance to the Path of the Knight from the Nirvana group? I really didn't expect the pressure to be so high in the Nirvana group. Can WBG and IG qualify consistently from the Nirvana group? I feel that as long as IG can make it to the Path of the Knight, they should win their matches easily, because there are many "fake Summit" teams in the Summit group, such as LGD, TT, and EDG. However, if IG wants to qualify for the World Championship, they still need to defeat TES, AL, and JDG head-on. If IG cannot beat these teams, they will not accumulate enough World Championship points.