The LPL third split playoffs will officially start in two days. Recently, LCK fans launched a global team power ranking poll on forums. GEN unsurprisingly topped the list, with T1 in second place. Our region's IG and TES both made it into the top five, ranking third and fourth respectively. Interestingly, IG ranked higher than T1, which shows the impact the VCT results had on T1’s ranking.

BLG and AL are placed sixth and seventh. The top eight teams are all the top four from LCK and LPL regular seasons, directly qualifying for the playoffs, which seems reasonable. Besides those four, Weibo also made it into the top 10. G2 is the only European team in the top ten list (G2 went undefeated 4-0 in the summer split). Additionally, our region’s JDG and NIP also appear on the list, ranking 12th and 16th respectively.

T1 fans call for a change of starting AD

In the latter half of the T1 regular season, a surprising loss to KT caused the second place to be taken by HLE. Gumayusi was criticized by many T1 haters due to poor performance. Recently, an LCK viewer shared the current situation at the T1 base, where flower wreaths were placed downstairs, with banners mostly urging management to replace the starting AD. To achieve this, haters even made a 34-page PDF and sent it to T1 and their sponsors.

Even Riot’s official designer received the haters’ PDF opposing Little Lu Bu. After just one or two bad games, the public opinion escalated to this level. Playing professionally for T1 is truly stressful. The haters’ demands are hard to understand since T1 defeated HLE 3 kills to 0 in the regular season, and Little Lu Bu dominated Viper in lane. It’s just a temporary slump, yet they want a replacement. So who should they replace him with? Could it be Smash?

Brother is guaranteed the regular season MVP

The voting for the best lineup of the LPL third split regular season has already started. Official caster Maomao recently shared his votes: he gave his first MVP vote to brother, followed by TheShy and Kanavi. Miller and others, during their LCK qualifier live commentary, also discussed the voting. Both he and 957 believe the MVP can only be JKL, so brother’s MVP is secure.

Brother has earned 9 MVPs this split and has been consistently performing well; not awarding him would be unfair. For best rookie, Maomao voted for EDG’s young talent.Parukia’s choice seems reasonable too. The support played very well. For the first team, Maomao selected IG’s top and support, TES’s jungle, and BLG’s mid. Except for mid lane, the choices seem solid. Rookie’s performance this split feels better than Left Hand’s.

Ruler streaming and choosing championship skins

The LCK playoffs start on September 10th, and GEN players have been streaming recently. When Ruler was streaming, a fan asked: “You’ve had good luck this year; which champion would you pick for the championship skin?” Ruler replied: “Kai'Sa, Aphelios, and Zeri. I want to pick these. The skin has to look good to sell well. If I get the FMVP, having an extra skin would be even better.”

Wow, another classic skin selection moment. If I remember correctly, last year during Chovy’s stream, he also picked championship skins—he chose Taliyah and Galio, but was sent home early in the semifinals by Faker. I wonder if Ruler will get his wish this year. If they really win the championship, he will probably pick Zeri. Although this champion has been nerfed heavily, Ruler can still carry games with her.

Conclusion:

Some extreme T1 fans have really lost it. During this critical period fighting for a Worlds spot, they actually demand to replace the AD and even spread rumors to slander Little Lu Bu. If they mess up the player’s mentality, the playoffs could be in danger. The key point is that their demands are completely unreasonable. If you want to replace the AD now, who could it be? Who can take on such responsibility?

So, who do you think deserves the regular season MVP?

Feel free to leave your comments and join the discussion!