LPL's top mid-laner falters, BLG celebrates prematurely! Viper underperforms and is punished again by GALA

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Yesterday, the LPL held three matches, with only one being a Peak Group clash. Because the match started late and included pauses, it ended after eleven o’clock.

The previously four-game winning streak BLG was upset 0-2 by JDG, failing to achieve a clean sweep in the opening round.

The top mid-laner stumbled, suffering a solo kill in lane

Before this match began, the audience favored BLG to win, as they had shown dominant performances in the previous two rounds. In contrast, JDG was not highly regarded, having even lost to IG earlier, and their jungler Junjia was criticized by fans for dragging the team down.

Unexpectedly, JDG showed a completely different side this round. Early in the first game, mid-laner HongQ secured a solo kill on Knight. Knight’s mistake was significant—compared to Faker’s solo kill on BDD in the LCK, HongQ’s Ryze looked much stronger, and Knight should have been more cautious.

However, this solo kill didn’t greatly affect the overall situation. Knight still performed well, roaming to side lanes to help his team secure kills and consistently pressuring the top lane to make things easier for Bin. Knight ended with a 3-1 score.

In the mid-game, Bin also rewarded the team with strong teamfight performances, but the turning point came during BLG’s first Baron rush. BLG chose to rush at the right moment without stopping the enemy from contesting, allowing Junjia’s Sion to easily ult over the wall and steal the Baron.

Both games were overturned, ending BLG’s four-game winning streak

After stealing the Baron, JDG stalled the game. Their composition featured Aphelios, a strong late-game carry, while BLG had champions like Rumble and Renekton who don’t scale as well late. Although BLG secured the second Baron, teamfights became increasingly difficult. Coupled with Viper’s poor performance on Gwen and unfavorable teamfight conditions, JDG counterattacked successfully and won the first game.

Editor’s note

After losing the first game, BLG intensified their aggression in the second, adjusting their mindset and picking a Pantheon-Taliyah combo. Knight was caught and killed again early, but BLG managed to unlock mid-jungle synergy and maintained kill momentum. On JDG’s side, HongQ’s Ahri performed excellently, making several impressive teamfight entrances to stabilize the situation.

Despite BLG building over a 4000 gold lead and a significant kill advantage through continuous offense, trouble arose again in a mid-lane teamfight. JDG initiated first, and Viper mispositioned by not retreating on the flank, allowing Ahri to single him out and kill him. JDG then launched a teamfight counterattack to reduce their deficit.

In a subsequent jungle teamfight, BLG mishandled the situation again. Sion was focused and eliminated first, followed by Nidalee entering aggressively. Vampire’s Niko also engaged heavily, helping JDG reverse the situation and secure a sudden death finish.

Viper’s form is poor and he still can’t outplay GALA

Post-match interviews with Daeny and Viper revealed that Daeny admitted to many mistakes and disagreements in the draft phase, possibly referring to the difference between the players’ preferred picks and the coaches’ ideal choices. Viper confessed that his teamfighting was subpar today with several errors.

Editor’s note

Overall, BLG’s performance in this BO3 was lacking in player execution, team coordination, and draft strategy. Possibly due to earlier smooth wins, they fell into the classic trap of underestimating their opponent, leading to their downfall.

It’s worth mentioning that in the previous Demacia Cup, Viper was also punished by GALA. In this league’s first encounter, GALA defeated Viper again. Reviewing Viper’s performance since joining BLG, it appears below the expectations for a champion-level or top-tier AD carry.

Personally, I think BLG’s loss in this match stemmed from their two main offensive threats, Bin and Knight, being effectively suppressed. The highly anticipated first mid-laner Knight clearly underperformed compared to HongQ, and Viper’s form was consistently off, indicating he needs to make serious adjustments.