Foreword: The S16 season matches have officially begun, and I'm sure most players have been following the recent competitions. As the playoffs progress, all three Nirvana teams in the LPL have been eliminated. Over the past couple of days, the LPL has seen many changes, especially among teams on break, with player roster adjustments appearing. UP and OMG have started downsizing, and more players are expected to leave during the upcoming off-season. The highly anticipated all-Chinese super team, WBG, had its manager Stone Rush hint at something — "The river of time flows into the sea, and finally we go our separate ways." It seems that the wrong people together truly cannot achieve results.

Multiple LPL teams begin layoffs

I believe most players are quite familiar with the LPL. In recent years, the league's development has been highly unstable, with an increasing number of teams and declining performance, leading to severe deficits across the region. Every team is operating at a loss. Last season, RNG and FPX regrettably exited, causing great disappointment among fans, as both teams had strong brand power, especially RNG, whose popularity once seemed to rival that of SKT. As the second segment progresses, multiple LPL teams have entered the off-season again, and insiders have been revealing personnel adjustments one after another.

OMG and UP are the bottom two teams in the Nirvana group of the second segment. According to official rules, they have been eliminated early in Season 16, missing out on the third segment and entering a six-month off-season. Of course, they still have the chance to compete in the lower-tier league if they want, by fielding their second team. Recently, multiple players have left the official rosters of these two teams. Based on official website data, UP now only has mid-laner Saber and support Xiaoxia. Top-laner Sasi, jungler Climber, and bot-laner Hena have left the team.

OMG still has top-laner Hery, jungler Re0, mid-laner Haichao, and bot-laner Starry. Jungler Junhao, bot-laner Photic, and support Moham have departed. Barring any surprises, these two teams are unlikely to participate in the subsequent LDL matches. After elimination, further competition holds no meaning, and the teams cannot afford to keep these professional players. Given the official minimum salary standard, players earn tens of thousands per month. It seems the competition to exit the LPL this season will be fierce, with many teams wanting to stop. It remains to be seen which teams can seize the opportunity to leave, and OMG's chances are very high.

Meanwhile, the LPL's all-Chinese star team has also received some bad news. These days, there has been much discussion about WBG's roster changes, and team manager Stone Rush shared a song titled "The Intersection of Phoenix Flowers," which includes the classic line: "The river of time flows into the sea, and finally we go our separate ways; no harbor is a permanent stay." This essentially indicated WBG's personnel adjustments. Indeed, even top-tier domestic players, if five wrong people are put together, cannot produce results. WBG is a clear example — everyone has good mechanics, but together they always feel weak and ineffective.

Zai Jian's take:

Who would have thought that before the second segment even ended, the LPL would see such massive personnel changes? Both eliminated teams have experienced large-scale departures of starting players, and even the highly anticipated all-Chinese star team has undergone roster adjustments. Now the biggest hope is that WBG can regain some rhythm in the third segment. If they still perform like this, they will be seriously embarrassed — having spent so much money and effort, only to end up as a bottom-tier team in the league.

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