The third stage of the LPL intra-group matches has officially concluded. On the last match day, JD Gaming avenged their previous loss by defeating Weibo 2-1. Although this match did not affect the rankings, JD’s overall form has improved significantly. If they can maintain this momentum into the Knight’s Road, beating LGD should be straightforward. On the same day, another highlight match featured IG versus BLG, with IG providing plenty of entertainment.

After just two games, IG completed a 2-0 shutout. In the two encounters this stage, IG has won both times. BLG’s reputation really took a hit this time. Wei, not favored by his former team, impressed the audience by perfectly predicting and catching the King with a flash. After the first game, BLG on the blue side even used a four-ban strategy on junglers to try to limit Wei. In the current meta, pulling off such a ban is only possible if Bigwei truly respects Wei.

In the post-match interview, the coach was asked about the reasoning behind the four-ban on junglers. Bigwei replied that the four-ban on junglers wasn’t intentional; when on the blue side, they had to prioritize some champions and ban others. Later, the coach also explained why IG’s Yuyana was given away: their jungler had a higher priority than Yuyana, so they made a swap.

Although the explanation was clear, honestly, Bigwei’s reasons seem a bit forced. If they four-banned junglers, it definitely means they saw Wei as too strong and wanted to counter him. Regarding Yuyana, Swain does need to pair with Pantheon, and if Bin doesn’t pick Lillia, he won’t find better champions later. But if the King plays well, he could have been countered. Probably because the King’s win rate is low, they didn’t plan to pick him.

In this stage, both Gazi and the King played Yuyana four times. Gala’s win rate was 75%, while ELK’s was only 25%. BLG letting Gazi have Yuyana seems a bit disrespectful. Bigwei might have thought that other players’ Yuyana would be similar to their own King. After this match, the coach likely realized that even the same OP champion in the current meta can perform very differently depending on the player.

To be honest, IG made quite a few mistakes in the second game, but ultimately, thanks to TheShy locking down the enemy, they managed to destroy the crystal. The funniest moment came at the end of the match: four teammates weren’t sure if they could finish the crystal. Meiko was frantically directing, Rookie stayed silent, and Gazi waited for respawn. Meanwhile, one player was already clapping and laughing. Wei turned around and saw BLG’s crystal was already gone.

TheShy has played for many years, and honestly, it’s rare to see him laugh this happily. Even in the year he won S8, it wasn’t quite like this. But putting yourself in his shoes, it’s understandable—Iron Man’s ultimate demolished the enemy base. Even in casual matches, that’s a very entertaining moment. After watching these two BO3s, it’s clear that the phrase “Who really saved the stage style?” now has an answer.

BLG lost twice in a row to a jungler they didn’t want, which was already painful. Then Bin’s haters even showed up offline, getting close to him and taunting him. One spectator recorded a video holding a handwritten card intending to give it to Bin, but Bin’s expression turned sour upon reading it. The card said: “Are you ZB, bro?” Wow, this fan really isn’t afraid of Bin kicking him out.

In conclusion:

From the coaching staff to the players, BLG was completely outclassed by IG. The first game gave IG champions like Hecarim, Rumble, and Yuyana, so BLG’s loss was expected. Which team’s draft can afford to give the opponent three meta OP champions in a row? But the biggest weakness was still the King, who was outplayed by Gazi in lane and team fights. Across two games, he was behind by over 10,000 gold.

So, what do you think? Can BLG get revenge on IG in the playoffs?

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