The global audience is joining Bin in his "playful mischief."

Because the LPL schedule is arranged latest, the final draw ceremony for the Pioneer Tournament was logically scheduled after the LPL finals. This allowed many overseas streamers and viewers to watch this year's LPL finals incidentally. After observing Bin's perfect dominance on the battlefield, many viewers exclaimed that Bin is the top-tier top laner in the LPL. In the post-match interview, Bin openly stated that he intends to "beat up Kiin" in the Pioneer Tournament. Bin's public declaration quickly spread throughout the LOL community, with many international fans even commenting on GEN's official social media page.

Many viewers turned into amused spectators, hoping that GEN's management would arrange a showdown between GEN's top laner Kiin and Bin. Some even anticipated a private boxing match between Bin and Kiin, given Bin's claim of wanting to beat Kiin. As numerous fans voiced their demands to GEN, GEN's owner Arnold specifically addressed the issue. GEN's owner stated that according to GEN's official schedule, Kiin is heading to the Pioneer Tournament soon, so Kiin cannot participate in a 1v1 boxing match with Bin.

Besides calling out Kiin during the interview, Bin also expressed disregard for LCK's second seed BFX. Bin mentioned that he had never heard of this team and didn't know where they came from. Even if BLG doesn't study them, BFX likely cannot defeat BLG. It must be said that Bin's remarks are "very characteristic." Many Bin fans joked that BLG's current goal is to defeat GEN, and since BFX was beaten by GEN in the finals, they indeed don't deserve Bin's attention.

After the LOL Pioneer Tournament draw concluded, many BLG fans felt disappointed with the result because Bin was not grouped with "Indian God King Dhokla." Recall that Bin mentioned in an interview his desire to revenge against "Indian God King Dhokla." However, BLG is placed in Group A while Indian God King Dhokla is in Group B. According to the current Pioneer Tournament advancement rules, only the top two from each group qualify for the playoffs. With JDG and GEN in Group B, Indian God King Dhokla's chances of advancing to the knockout stage are nearly zero.

Tabe's interview was overly modest.

Some are happy, others worried. While the entire BLG team boldly celebrated, JDG's post-match interviews were more subdued, as JDG revealed many flaws during their finals BO5 against BLG (JDG's top laner Xiao Xu was consistently suppressed by Bin in four consecutive matches). Moreover, according to Pioneer Tournament regulations, JDG as LPL's second seed must face LCK's first seed GEN in their opening match. Therefore, many JDG fans fear that JDG's players might suffer a significant decline in performance due to the finals loss.

During the interview, JDG coach Tabe publicly responded to numerous fan and media inquiries. Tabe indicated that JDG's loss to BLG in the first stage is not a major issue. He believes the first stage is merely the beginning of LOL's annual competitions, with the Pioneer Tournament, second stage, MSI, and World Championship still ahead. Thus, JDG players will not give up due to a single match defeat. Tabe also admitted that JDG currently has a noticeable gap compared to BLG and GEN. JDG's participation in this Pioneer Tournament is primarily for learning purposes—to gain insights from GEN's superior tactics and BP strategies when facing them.

Conclusion

This Pioneer Tournament employs a double-elimination BO5 format, so I believe both BLG and JDG have opportunities to meet again in the playoffs if they avoid major mistakes. Of course, who do you think has a better chance of winning between GEN and BLG? Although JDG's focus is on learning, I feel JDG could potentially become a dark horse team. What flaws do you think JDG needs to address to qualify as a strong team?