Foreword: The S16 season has officially begun. I believe the vast majority of players are paying close attention to recent competitions, with matches across various regions being quite intense. Just recently, the roster for the League of Legends Asian Games was officially announced. As most had expected, CN was not on this list, meaning we have forfeited this event. Many industry insiders have publicly addressed this issue, with some sources even revealing that they had known about this through their personal networks as early as April. Now, many netizens have come to appreciate Oner's greatness—his decision to step down effectively meant giving up the opportunity for military service exemption.

CN definitively gives up the LOL Asian Games competition

I believe the vast majority of players are quite familiar with League of Legends. As an esports title, it has developed to its current scale over more than a decade, which is truly impressive. In 2018, esports began to align with traditional sports; in fact, at the Jakarta Asian Games that year, esports successfully became a demonstration event. Although the medals were not counted in the official medal tally, the players did physically receive them. In that year's competition, CN defeated KR and secured the gold medal in the League of Legends event. Uzi cherished this gold medal immensely, even regarding it as the greatest honor of his career.

In recent years, esports has developed rapidly, and League of Legends has even become an official event at the Asian Games. However, during the previous Asian Games held on home soil, our overall performance was not particularly stable—we didn't even make it to the finals and only secured a bronze medal. Indeed, with many veteran players retiring, there are not many top-tier domestic players ready to step up in the League of Legends scene. As the new Asian Games approaches, discussions about the LPL's candidate selection have grown increasingly heated. For fans who still held onto some hope, it was completely shattered after the qualifier roster was announced.

Let's first look at the direct-entry teams: South Korea and Chinese Taipei—the former are the gold medalists from the last edition, the latter the silver medalists. The qualifier roster includes Hong Kong, India, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. In the end, we did not see the name we most wanted. After months of deliberation, CN has ultimately decided to forgo the League of Legends event. Industry insiders have even publicly disclosed that they had received the news as early as April, but due to various reasons, they couldn't share it openly.

The overall scale of this delegation is being reduced; this is not limited to esports or just League of Legends. Fans don't need to get too emotional about it. The overall strength of the LPL this year is quite decent, especially the BLG team. From their performance in the First Stand tournament, we can sense their stable tempo. There are also upcoming international events such as EWC, MSI, and Worlds. I believe BLG can definitely stand out and even help restore confidence in the LPL region. We can only say that Oner has made an enormous contribution here. I'm sure they knew about the participating teams very early on. By stepping away from the jungle role competition, he essentially voluntarily gave up the benefit of military service exemption, especially considering that, based on the overall strength of each team, KR's chance of winning is a staggering 99.9%.

In my opinion,

Actually, some time ago, industry insiders had already given fans a heads-up, but still, many fans find it hard to accept after the official announcement. There's nothing to be done about it—after all, the reduction in events is not limited to League of Legends; it's a result of macro-level adjustments. What everyone can do next is to continue cheering for their favorite teams. There are still many world-class competitions ahead, and I believe the BLG team can lift another trophy.

What do you, dear audience, think about this matter?