The LPL third stage's Knight's Path has concluded. EDG was swept 3-0 by NIP, losing their playoff chance and relegating to the Nirvana division next season. Jiejie, back at his former club, once again brought his team to Nirvana. It's quite frustrating. Combined with his earlier three entries into Nirvana, this world champion jungler has achieved the feat of taking three different teams to Nirvana four times.

The most absurd part is that Jiejie has never once fought his way back from the Nirvana group himself. Every time he leads a team into Nirvana, he only gets to the Summit group through transfers. If nothing unexpected happens, Jiejie will probably change teams again next year. However, his options may be limited, as his performance has declined significantly this season. Teams in the Summit group would rather promote rookies than pay a high price for a jungler who is essentially a Nirvana-level player.

After NIP easily defeated EDG to enter the playoffs, IG and TT faced a do-or-die match. Like NIP's game, IG also quickly swept TT 3-0 to claim the last playoff spot. IG won this BO5 even more easily than NIP, with the three games totaling just 68 minutes, setting the fastest BO5 in LPL history. The previous record was 73 minutes and 26 seconds, set by SN vs LNG in 2021.

In the current patch, breaking the 2021 record shows how ruthless IG was. Some fans probably planned to support IG after work, but the match ended before they even got off work. It's not an exaggeration to call this a bot game. TheShy played exceptionally well in this BO5. TT seemed obsessed, treating TheShy like Bin, thinking that breaking the top lane would secure victory.

In the first game, TheShy picked Camille and executed a tower dive kill on TT's top laner at 2 minutes. Then Rookie caught Olaf again, resulting in two deaths by 5 minutes, tearing open the top lane. Two subsequent solo kills completely broke the balance. The most impressive moment was TheShy surviving a tower dive with only 14 HP, reminiscent of his prime. TheShy's damage calculation was terrifyingly precise.

After the top lane collapsed in the first game, TT went crazy, sending all five players to target the top laner. Although they managed to kill TheShy a few times, the mid and bottom lanes suffered huge losses. After being ganked, even TheShy couldn't help but laugh on the black screen. By focusing on the top lane for two consecutive games, TT ended up sending themselves into the Nirvana group. It's possible that TT watched BLG's loss at the Mid-Season Cup and tried to imitate them by using the top lane as a breakthrough, but it backfired.

But TT overestimated the strength of their other lanes. Every time they ganked TheShy, they lost turret plates and resources. The gold from a single kill couldn't make up for those losses. Judging by the game content, TT didn't look like a team that had spent a whole season in the Summit group playing against strong teams. They learned nothing from the strong teams and even regressed in performance. No wonder they finished 3-11 in the group stage and could only sit at the same table as EDG on the Knight's Path.

After securing the playoffs, IG is one step closer to the Regional Finals. In the next match, as long as they defeat the loser of LGD vs TES, and if NIP doesn't finish in the top four, IG will have a chance at Worlds. Based on their performance against TT, IG should be capable of more than just top six; they might push further. During the group stage, TT even beat LGD and went the distance with AL and JDG. IG should be at least as strong as TT, right?

Conclusion:

Following the "Finger-Guiding" moment, TheShy's Camille has added another iconic play. This will be talked about for a while. During this break, IG must have studied a lot, but TT showed nothing. The next opponent is basically confirmed. IG should study well and aim to first reach the top six to secure the Regional Finals spot. Whether they can push further remains to be seen.

So, do you think LGD can beat TES?

Welcome to leave comments and discuss!