At the 2023 Worlds, the match between JDG and T1 in the Semifinals drew a lot of attention from the audience. The reason was that JDG was at the brink of creating a “Golden Path” by winning every title in the season. However, this did not come to fruition as T1 convincingly defeated JDG and subsequently claimed the championship at the 2023 Worlds.
It’s worth noting that JDG’s current AD Carry – Ruler has a significant history with Faker and T1. Therefore, many fans hope that JDG will find a way to repay that defeat in the 2024 season. However, sadly, the LPL media is expressing pessimism about this.
Specifically, in a recent match, JDG suffered a painful defeat to LNG with a score of 1-2. Moreover, this loss indicates that JDG’s overall performance is relatively low as even stars like Kanavi and Ruler are underperforming. This defeat is severely undermining confidence in JDG’s chances of qualifying for this year’s Worlds.
Following the loss to LNG, JDG has dropped to third place in the LPL Summer 2024 standings despite having played more matches than other teams. It’s important to note that currently, BLG and TES continue to demonstrate formidable strength while LNG is rising strongly. It is likely that these teams will hold the highest seed positions for LPL at the upcoming Worlds.
At this point, JDG’s chance to reach the Worlds is almost limited to competing for a “seed 4” position. It should be noted that teams considered “underdogs” like AL, WBG, or FPX have also made rapid progress recently. Therefore, JDG will face many challenges in competing for the “seed 4” position and could very well end up watching the upcoming Worlds from home.
Besides the fact that stars like Ruler and Kanavi are not maintaining their performance, personnel changes have also negatively impacted JDG. Notably, in the Top Lane position, they parted ways with 369 and brought in a very young player (Sheer) and another player who has missed the entire 2023 season (Flandre). It’s hard to expect such players to shine immediately, so JDG’s decline is understandable.
Fairly speaking, JDG’s chance of securing a ticket to the 2024 Worlds is not completely extinguished. However, if JDG continues to play below expectations as they did in the match against LNG, it will be difficult for them to compete for the representative position of the LPL at the upcoming Worlds. Perhaps only when stars like Kanavi and Ruler regain their top form will JDG have hopes of returning to the international stage and “avenging” T1 in the future.