Viper responds to the Demacia Cup defeat

As the LPL’s flagship team, BLG’s failure to progress beyond the group stage at the Demacia Cup truly stunned many LPL viewers. Some BLG fans even believe that the LPL’s future is at risk, given that BLG was widely seen as the favorite to win next year. Recently, a BLG player openly discussed the reasons behind their poor performance in an interview. Viper admitted that since he just joined the LPL, he didn’t have enough time to scrim with his teammates, which led to insufficient coordination with other BLG players.

However, many viewers argue that the main reason BLG failed to qualify for the knockout stage was the absence of their mid laner, LeftHand. They believe that if LeftHand had participated, BLG would have undoubtedly won the Demacia Cup. LeftHand himself confessed during a live stream that he skipped the Demacia Cup because he felt it lacked prestige, but if he had played, BLG would surely have taken the title. (Since S10, LeftHand has won the Demacia Cup every time he participated and earned two Finals MVP awards)

LPL Demacia Cup semifinalists announced

Besides BLG’s surprising collapse, other LPL powerhouse teams also stumbled frequently during the Demacia Cup. For example, WBG, AL, and TES all failed to reach the semifinals. Many viewers consider TES and AL missing the semifinals reasonable, since TES’s top laner 369, mid laner Xiaonaiyou, and AD carry JKL did not participate. Thus, TES losing to IG was understandable, especially as IG fielded their core lineup except for mid laner Rooki. (Moreover, IG’s new mid laner has LCK competitive experience, whereas TES’s players are mostly LDL-level.)

AL’s situation in this Demacia Cup was quite similar to TES’s. Because AL’s main players had to attend another esports event, AL sent their second team to compete, resulting in a heavy defeat by LGD. Looking purely at Demacia Cup results, WBG was undoubtedly the biggest loser. While BLG, TES, and AL all played without their main rosters, WBG’s primary lineup still failed to reach the knockout stage. With many top teams eliminated, the semifinalists for this Demacia Cup have been finalized: LGD, IG, JDG, and LNG.

LCK imports spark heated discussions

This Demacia Cup also saw the rise of several “dark horse” teams. For example, LNG and OMG, last year’s “reborn” teams, surprised many who doubted they could make the knockout stage. However, through continuous roster upgrades during the transfer period, both teams significantly improved. Many fans, upon seeing LNG and OMG successfully recruit Korean players, felt pessimistic about the LPL’s future, since these Korean imports were rejected by the LCK but still managed to defeat LPL’s top teams.

Although LNG, strengthened by their Korean imports, became the biggest dark horse in the LPL Demacia Cup, many viewers still believe the championship will go to the all-Chinese roster of JDG. After all, JDG’s coach Tabe is regarded as the strongest coach in the LPL, and JDG’s lineup is far superior on paper compared to LNG. IG, as the only team that participated in the S15 World Championship and made the Demacia Cup semifinals, might also have a shot at the title. (Who do you think will ultimately win the Demacia Cup?)