Preface: The S15 season is almost over. Following the LPL finals, there has been widespread discussion among players online. From the current competition outlook, TES has a strong probability of progressing. AL’s momentum this season has been significant. As the champions of the second split, their reputation was quite good, and even after losing two consecutive world-class matches, fans were still understanding. However, after the third split ended, AL’s reputation completely collapsed—not due to poor player performance, but because of a series of remarks from the team manager Aixiang. It seems now he would be better off just activating protection like before, as he has become a "public enemy," widely criticized and targeted.

AL’s Aixiang: The only team in S15 to have beaten an LCK team

Most players are fairly familiar with the LPL. Once a top global region, its results have sharply declined in recent years, even dropping to fourth place in the first split. Starting from the second split, the LPL landscape changed drastically. Although TES, the first split champion, performed well in the regular season, they faced major issues in playoffs and were eliminated early with few points. In contrast, AL advanced steadily and won the championship. Though they were only the winners bracket champions, they gained significant fan recognition. Before players could get overconfident, the team manager became active publicly, causing the hard-earned popularity to plummet rapidly.

In the previous finals, BLG’s manager openly joked: cheer when winning, activate protection when losing. Ultimately, through BLG’s relentless efforts, TES secured a direct spot as the second seed at Worlds, avoiding the play-in stage. Afterwards, BLG’s manager went wild, not only sharing screenshots of his social media to marketing accounts but also publicly arguing with fans online, reaching peak comedic levels—hardly befitting a top-tier team manager. Perhaps realizing some comments were unreasonable, he deleted certain posts.

He openly shared screenshots with marketing accounts and said that rather than others sharing them, he preferred to contribute himself. He also liked some comments in fan groups, stating AL is the only LPL team across three splits that never fell below third place, the only LPL team this year to have beaten LCK in both small and big games internationally. Aixiang even added that AL has never changed any players. Honestly, most points are valid—they haven’t changed their roster and have consistently ranked at the top of the LPL. The only criticism from fans is about the claim of beating LCK in both small and big games.

If AL had won a world-level championship this year, people would likely accept this claim. Although they did beat LCK teams, the fact remains they didn’t win the ultimate title, so boasting about it invites criticism. Many teams have defeated LCK squads, but only those who win the championship can truly brag. To be fair, some of Aixiang’s remarks are reasonable, but sometimes he seems a bit careless. AL has definitely gained fans this season, but if this continues, they might burn out their support.

Goodbye thinks so

I really don’t understand why they keep bringing up being the only team to beat LCK. The season isn’t over yet, and their regional results are solid: runner-up in the first split, champion in the second, third place in the third. If judged only by this, I believe few would argue. It’s just that AL’s management has seriously underestimated the LPL’s competitiveness and said things prematurely.

Dear viewers, what are your thoughts on this matter?