The first stage group matches of the LPL's new season are underway with the second round robin. On the last match day, WE from the Resolute group swept TT to secure their fourth win, locking in a top-two spot in the group early. NIP, currently third, only has two matches left; even if they win both, they can only tie WE’s points. Since WE won both head-to-head matches against NIP, WE ranks higher in case of a tie, thus securing the first round of the Knight’s Path.

The top two teams in the Resolute group face off against the 5th and 6th place teams from the Pinnacle group in the Knight’s Path. If WE wins, they advance to the playoffs. Based on current points, the Knight’s Path match will be either against TES or IG, making WE’s playoff chances quite promising. On the same day, another match featured the Pinnacle group leaders JDG battling BLG in a tough three-game series, with JDG ultimately winning and taking the top spot on the leaderboard.

In the first round, JDG had already swept BLG, which many attributed to BLG’s poor form at the time. After this recent match, it’s clear that JDG is indeed a strong team. Although JDG often gets pressured in laning, their teamfighting coordination surpasses BLG’s by a wide margin. BLG’s draft also seemed somewhat exploited. In the decider game, Daeny picked Volibear himself and gave Bard to JDG, turning Viper into a roaming playmaker like Keria throughout the game.

However, even with a 7K gold lead in the first game, BLG still lost, which seems less about coaching and more about the players underperforming. BLG had lane advantages in the first five minutes but increasingly gave up opportunities as the game progressed. JunJia is not among the top junglers in the Pinnacle group—players like Jiejie, Wei, and Tarzan can outmatch him. Xun, however, struggled, getting outperformed directly by JunJia, which was hard to handle.

That said, it’s unfair to blame Xun alone since the three carries all underperformed. Bin’s Gnar couldn’t make decisive plays and gave away an unstoppable Volibear. Viper was almost invisible in two games. Left Hand had some impact but disappeared at critical moments. The support also faltered — either not dying or giving away big advantages when they did. When everyone has issues like this, losing is inevitable. Moreover, BLG’s discipline seems to have regressed to last year’s level.

After being swept by JDG, BLG dropped to second place in the Pinnacle group. Although both teams share the same record and tiebreaker points, JDG holds the head-to-head advantage and temporarily replaces BLG as the LPL’s top team. Whether JDG can maintain this position remains uncertain, as they are a volatile team capable of sweeping BLG but also losing badly to bottom-ranked IG. It would be awkward if they lose to IG again in the second round.

Following the loss to JDG, BLG’s head coach Daeny and mid laner Left Hand were interviewed post-match. When discussing the defeat, Left Hand noted that JDG prefers to farm safely and respond reactively, excelling in counterplay. This style made BLG more impatient than usual against JDG, leading to many exposed weaknesses. The reporter then pressed Left Hand to comment on JDG’s young mid laner HongQ.

Knight said: HongQ’s strengths and weaknesses are quite clear. He is very young with a deep champion pool but has been playing more aggressively lately, which sometimes leads to more mistakes. This assessment is quite fair. HongQ is one of the rare young mids who is versatile, mastering meta-strong champions. However, his positioning in teamfights can be a bit careless, creating opportunities for opponents. Fortunately, these are fixable issues.

Conclusion:

After losing these two games, the competition for the top two spots has become intense. JDG has taken the lead, while AL is closely watching. BLG had discipline problems even when JDG swept them before, and unfortunately, these issues haven’t improved in the rematch. After this match, Daeny will likely call a meeting to thoroughly review the performances of the top, mid, jungle, and support players.

So, what do you think? Can BLG reclaim the top spot?

Feel free to leave your thoughts and join the discussion!