Preface: The S16 season has officially kicked off, and most players have been paying close attention to the recent clashes. The LPL region's competition is very fierce. JDG, a team that many focus on, has faced serious issues in their recent matches. After being defeated by TES, their head coach Tabe fully expressed his frustration, bluntly stating that no one in the team is performing well. This lineup, built with a huge investment, was surprisingly crushed by a team comparable to those in the LDL league. Yet who could have imagined that this very team had previously swept BLG in a double victory? Now, the rhythm of the LPL seems increasingly confusing.

JDG's 100 million investment backfires

Most players are quite familiar with JDG. As the e-commerce team of the LPL, they enjoy high popularity and hype. Every transfer season, they spend a huge amount to acquire multiple top-tier pro players. This season was no exception. Even before the winter transfer window began, their parent company expanded funding by over 100 million, with a clear goal: to build a super-luxurious roster for the new season and contend for the LPL championship. After first securing a top coaching staff, JDG’s final lineup wasn’t particularly strong; only the AD carry Gala is considered a star player, while the other positions are filled mostly by relatively new players. Junjia, though formerly with EDG, had only average results.

As the season started, JDG’s form gradually became apparent. After a double kill against BLG, many expected them to stand out. However, they repeatedly stumbled in later matches, especially in the clash against TES. Facing a lineup almost entirely made up of LDL-level players, they were shockingly swept 2-0. Even their support player Fengyue gained confidence from the defeat. In the first game, both sides played cautiously early on. JDG managed to gain a slight economic advantage through good macro play, but their jungler Junjia was overly eager to make plays, aggressively ganking too often, which completely disrupted the team’s rhythm.

The second game was similar. During the laning phase, individual skill granted JDG a small economic edge. The laning phase was fairly clean with few mistakes. The turning point came at 24 minutes when JDG’s support Titan missed a wall hook. TES capitalized by successfully killing the jungle and support, then secured Baron. With that Baron buff, TES sealed the match. After the game, head coach Tabe’s interview quickly went viral as he admitted the team’s poor recent performance and said he had reprimanded all players. He warned that if this keeps up, the 100 million investment will go to waste.

Junjia’s recent performances have been very rushed. In a previous match against WBG, it was similar. That game’s Xin Zhao could have waited for teammates to scale and won teamfights later, but he repeatedly rushed into the enemy, wasting skills and rendering Xin Zhao ineffective in follow-up fights. If this continues, JDG’s jungle position may be replaced; Xiaotian is likely warming up. Meanwhile, during the LCK offseason, a data report sparked online jokes. Only two teams in the entire LCK had no coach voice communication intervention: the undefeated T1 and the eliminated HLE. Fans teased Homme, saying, "See? It’s not my fault. If I went to T1, I could also be undefeated."

Farewell thoughts

Who would have thought JDG’s pace would deteriorate this badly? It seems mainly due to the jungle and support players initiating too often. These two young players are overly aggressive and fail to consider subsequent fights, resulting in many ridiculous mistakes each time. JDG now needs a core leader to unify the team’s mindset. Only by working together can they quickly close out games instead of losing control in mid-game teamfights.

What do all of you viewers think about this situation?