The LCK third stage play-in tournament is over. BFX swept NS 3-1 and then battled BRO in a five-game thriller. BFX emerged victorious, claiming the final playoff berth. The series was intense: BFX drew first blood, but BRO responded by taking two straight games to reach match point. In the elimination game, BFX's top laner delivered a stellar performance with a monstrous Aatrox, leading the team to force a deciding game.

In the final game, BFX's top laner picked Irelia and secured a tower dive solo kill just two minutes in. With all lanes performing well, BFX kept winning team fights and closed out the match. BRO was truly exaggerated: they drafted a mid-game team fight composition but kept turtling and refusing to engage. Once the game turned in BFX's favor, they pretended to start fights and got wiped out, losing the base in one push. If they had been more aggressive, BRO wouldn't have handed over two consecutive playoff tickets.

T1 selects BFX as their opponent.

After BFX's successful advancement, all LCK playoff teams were confirmed. GEN and HLE will wait in the second round, while T1, DK, KT, and BFX will start from the first round. As the third seed in the regular season, T1 had the right to choose their opponent. After discussions between the coaches and players, they unanimously picked BFX. Thus, the first round matchups are: T1 vs BFX in the upper bracket, and DK vs KT in the lower bracket.

Compared to KT, BFX is indeed a more manageable opponent. Although KT is currently in a slump, the team has a high ceiling. T1's own form is also inconsistent, and picking a "training dummy" might backfire. BFX might be on a two-game winning streak, but they still lag behind the "legend" group teams. If T1 plays steadily, they will likely win. In the next round, GEN will have the right to choose their opponent, and they are expected to pick the winner of DK vs KT.

Guan Zeyuan's "48 meme" leads to complaints.

LPL official caster Guan Zeyuan recently posted a basketball commentary preview video. In the video, he placed a "48" number next to a trash can. In other contexts, this number is just plain data, but in the League of Legends community, "Bin's 48 meme" is well-known. By putting such a sensitive number in the video, the implications are clear. As a result, BLG fans collectively filed complaints.

After receiving the news, BLG's club immediately complained to the authorities. Guan Zeyuan quickly posted an explanation, saying that the 48 was just a count of his three basketball shots into the trash can, with no other meaning—it just happened to stop at 48. This explanation is quite far-fetched. According to a leaker, the officials intend to severely punish Guan, with a penalty much harsher than PYL's previous "doodle" incident. It is estimated that he will face a suspension and fine.

Shi Yue makes a major mistake.

LPL official caster Shi Yue, while hosting the IG vs TT match, was responsible for interacting with the audience and giving out official prizes. The director posed a question: "Which two players have the highest Gwen win rate in the LPL?" A male audience member beside Shi Yue immediately raised his hand and answered. His first answer was TheShy, but while he was thinking about the second, a female audience member next to him snatched the answer. However, Shi Yue completely ignored the male audience member.

Shi Yue actively interacted with another audience member, and even when the latter gave the wrong order, she still provided hints. Eventually, the prize went to the second audience member who answered. This behavior directly sparked public outrage. Shi Yue then posted a long explanation: "The waiting time was three seconds. I had already waited. When a later audience member jumped in, I chose that one." Well, choosing her is one thing, but giving hints? That's really too much.

Conclusion:

Only those who answered correctly were supposed to receive the jersey reward. It's understandable that Shi Yue switched to another person, but giving hints that the second audience member's sequence was wrong is simply outrageous. She couldn't even treat everyone fairly, and she kept arguing in her apology. Is this something an official caster should do? Later, the male audience member refused to participate in the interaction, wearing a look of disgust.

So, do you think Guan Zeyuan should be punished?

Feel free to leave a comment and discuss!