The LCK third stage knockout stage has kicked off. BFX, coming from the play-ins, went head-to-head with T1 in a five-game battle. Despite making several poor decisions, T1 ended up giving a victory speech. After game one, the audience believed T1 was back in form, but then T1 lost two straight games, giving BFX the match point. When it seemed T1 was in trouble, Doran emerged as the hero.

In game four, Nasus backdoored the base, and in game five, Kennen dealt massive damage. Doran, who had been questioned throughout the entire stage, transformed into a god in the last two games, saving the team from dire straits. However, despite winning this match, T1's form is still poor. They need to review and adjust, because their upcoming opponents, HLE or GEN, are not pushovers like BFX. One slip-up and T1 could fall into the losers' bracket.

Shad0w leads his team to qualify for Worlds.

The LCP playoffs are down to the last BO5 to determine the champion. Shad0w's team, CFO, faced TSW in the winners' bracket final and were swept 3-0 to the losers' bracket. However, in the previous match against Sofm's MVKE, CFO held their ground. The series only lasted four games, with CFO winning 3-1. After reaching the finals, CFO secured the LCP's spot at Worlds.

Although MVKE lost, they have also qualified for Worlds, but as the third seed, they need to play in the play-in stage. CFO and TSW, on the other hand, directly enter the Swiss stage. After last year's Worlds, Shad0w was kicked out by BLG. Unexpectedly, after switching regions, he managed to qualify for Worlds again. BLG has also qualified. These two teams might meet in the Swiss stage, which would be an interesting matchup.

Guan Zeyuan will miss Worlds.

LPL official caster Guan Zeyuan was recently reported by BLG for using the "48 meme" in a video. The authorities took this incident seriously and imposed a punishment on him that was several times heavier than that of PYL. According to leaks from former RA manager and Summoner Park, Guan Zeyuan's commentary qualifications for the rest of the year have been canceled. That means we won't see him at this year's Worlds. If true, the punishment seems quite severe.

However, since Da Xiao (Guan Zeyuan) was blatantly violating rules, the authorities made an example of him to warn other casters. That is understandable. After all, the LPL's foundation is the players; casters are just icing on the cake. If reckless talk drives players away, the league would truly suffer. Besides Da Xiao, a second-stream caster was also reported by BLG for trash-talking Viper. The official punishment for him was: revocation of all secondary commentary qualifications.

TheShy talks about playoff goals.

IG's next opponent has been confirmed as TES. In a recent interview, TheShy talked about the playoff goals. The "King of the Underground" (referring to IG) hopes the team can first secure a spot in the regional qualifiers, then make it to Worlds. The difficulty for IG to reach the World Championship is indeed high. They must first ensure victory in the next game to have a chance at the qualifiers. If they lose to TES, IG's journey this year will end prematurely.

TES's strength is certainly not weak. After losing to LGD, they will likely play very cautiously in the next match. However, IG is not without a chance. If they study carefully, they can compete. For IG, this is a do-or-die battle, but for TES, it's different. They currently have 90 points and are already guaranteed a spot in the regional qualifiers. As an LPL viewer, I honestly hope both teams can make it to Worlds, but that may not be realistic.

Conclusion:

PYL had just been punished, and Da Xiao openly violated the rules again. A heavy penalty was inevitable. But without him at Worlds, there will indeed be less excitement. After all, among the current LPL official casters, only Mille and Da Xiao are barely watchable. Perhaps because the league has developed so well in recent years, Da Xiao got a bit cocky. The authorities' crackdown might actually be good for him.

So, do you think the punishment for Da Xiao is too harsh?

Welcome to leave a comment and discuss!