The first week of the LPL's new season first stage has wrapped up. On the final day, AL and JDG clashed in a tough three-game series, with JDG coming out on top. Having lost to BLG and then JDG, AL's overall power this year appears weaker than anticipated. The players have shown fluctuating performance lately; the ADC often fails in lane, regularly feeding large leads, while the jungle and support sometimes slip up, causing the team to lose momentum.

Coach Helper also faces significant issues, seeming overly focused on laning. He often tries to give Kal a soft support role to secure bot lane advantage, but this approach leaves AL's team fights lacking. In contrast, BLG's coach Daeny is much smarter; knowing ON's support is usually soft, he denied ON any soft supports in the first week's three games, which paid off as BLG won all three matches.

Perhaps Helper made this choice considering Hope's individual skill level, opting for hard supports in the bot lane since the husband can create lane advantages. The current meta favors strong bot lane matchups, but this strategy doesn't seem to suit AL well so far. They need to reconsider whether to abandon Kal's initiation role, as his choice of soft support puts a lot of pressure on Tazan.

On the same day, BLG played against Top Esports. As the league's dominant team, BLG effortlessly swept TES 2-0, securing their third win of the new season. Since the departure of their star player, TES has struggled to win any matches — getting swept by JDG and quickly defeated by BLG. In two best-of-three series, they haven't completed a full three games. Among the six teams in the peak group, TES is the only one yet to claim a first victory, and if this continues, they look set to finish last.

Currently, TES's top laner is struggling, the mid lane holds no advantage, and the bot lane offers little hope. Their best chance for a first win might be against IG, but IG is no pushover this year; they've beaten JDG and pushed Weibo to a full three-game series. Overall, IG is much stronger than TES. Without their star player returning to carry the load, TES might not win a single match in the peak group. At this point, TES appears unable to beat any team within their group.

After BLG's third consecutive win, the league's top team has firmly established their position. This version without lane swaps suits BLG well. Top laner Bin can leverage his individual skill to gain lane advantages, while the mid and bot lanes can take over games in the late stages. The only area needing improvement is Xun, who tends to get overexcited and make mistakes, but under Daeny's guidance, Xun's reckless plays have decreased. With more practice, BLG should be able to achieve a perfect record.

After defeating TES, the usually "modest" Bin got cocky again. In a post-game interview, Bin openly declared: Winning matches is quite simple, no pressure. When asked about the meta, Bin said: This is the best meta in the history of the English League, a major buff for me. Later, when discussing confidence, Bin stated again: My confidence has always been 100%, never wavering.

Wow, not long ago during a livestream, Bin said he no longer wanted to claim he'd win against any team. We thought he had matured, but after a winning streak, he reverted to his old self—still the same Bin, as "modest" as ever. But with three straight wins now, a bit of arrogance is understandable. Watching these matches, Bin has indeed been playing excellently; his skills are nearly unbeatable.

Conclusion:

Although TES retained 369 and Little Cream, their other positions are too weak. Their current strength only matches teams like EDG and WE from the perseverance group. If the jungle and support remain unchanged, TES's ceiling is clearly limited. If they fail to beat IG later, TES will finish last in the peak group without question. It's still unknown when their star player will return to save TES.

So, what do you think is AL's biggest problem?

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments!