Preface: Viewers who frequently follow LOL events should be familiar with the "palace intrigue" in various regions. The most notable this season is the AD swap between BFX and NS in the LCK. BFX was dissatisfied with Diable's poor professional attitude, while NS considered Taeyoon's skill insufficient, so they privately agreed to swap. After being betrayed by NS management, Taeyoon successfully took revenge on NS in the regular season, and his celebration moves became trending topics on major forums. Now, BFX and NS meet on the Path of the Knight, and this life-or-death revenge match has sparked even more discussion and attention.

Both BFX and NS performed poorly in the second split, so in the third split they fell into the "Phoenix Group". To advance to the LCK playoffs, they must defeat each other on the Path of the Knight. Because of the personal grudges between the players, this BO5 match gained a lot of attention and discussion. In this BO5, Taeyoon, the AD player who was looked down upon by NS management, performed exceptionally well, suppressing Diable, known as the "Korean Uzi", so much that he couldn't develop normally in the laning phase.

Additionally, NS's jungler, Xiaohaimian, was in poor form, so the outcome of this life-or-death match was the same as the regular season. BFX successfully eliminated NS with a 3-1 score and advanced to the next round of the Path of the Knight. After losing, NS found itself in an awkward situation: due to poor results in the first two splits, their world championship points rank near the bottom of the LCK. They are not only completely out of the LCK regional qualifiers, but also cannot participate in the newly held "2026 Demacia Cup" (World District King Cup).

After all, the minimum requirement for the LCK regional qualifiers and the 2026 Demacia Cup is to be in the top 6 of the LCK. With NS completely missing the S16 World Championship, they have been mocked and criticized by many LOL viewers. Some even call NS the Korean version of WBG. Indeed, the two teams share many similarities this season: both blindly bought star players during the transfer period but ended up in the Phoenix Group, missing the playoffs and regional qualifiers.

NS really spent a lot of money this season to buy star players, and some of these players have even won FMVP honors in international tournaments. For example, top laner Kingen and mid laner Scout are both World Championship FMVPs, while support Lianzi and AD Diable have also won FMVP in MSI and the District King Cup. However, these FMVP players couldn't lead NS to final victory. (Which investment do you think is more wasteful, WBG or NS?)

NS is truly a peculiar team; they always pick a "four-core" lineup in every match, but every player is a "carry" (or "vampire" meaning they all want to take resources), leading to no one sacrificing. As a result, despite the players' big names, their performance in matches is poor. Previously, NS's AD player Taeyoon was willing to sacrifice, but unfortunately, the NS management didn't appreciate him and gave him to BFX. BFX then proved that the "Korean Uzi" is just a position (or a placeholder).

Conclusion

Riot Games is also good at creating content. Knowing that after the playoffs, each region will enter the offseason, they specifically hold the "World District King Cup" for viewers. Personally, I also want to know if the LPL teams that cannot enter the World Championship can defeat the LCK teams, since last time in the District King Cup, the LPL teams were crushed by the LCK teams.