In the recent clash between Bilibili Gaming and PSG Talon, the global League of Legends community experienced some shocking moments. Before the match began, almost everyone anticipated an easy victory for BLG. In fact, many opinions suggested that the LPL representative would win quickly. However, that never happened. The PCS representative, deemed the underdog, truly made the LPL champion sweat to barely win with a close score of 2-3. The majority of the situations that caused BLG to struggle came from the performances of the players on the team. Meanwhile, PSG Talon played tightly and disciplined, with a definite strategy in their gameplay.
Of course, PSG is a team that deserves praise after the match against the champion of the LPL. This is also the best achievement that the PCS representative has achieved against LPL/LCK champions since they began participating in international tournaments. Additionally, in just one match, PSG equaled the LCS’s record over the past two years, finding 2 game wins against representatives from China and Korea.
But while PSG has a commendable record, on the other side, Knight continues to extend his streak of embarrassment. Specifically, according to statistics, Knight has become the LPL player with the most losses against minor region teams whenever facing them in international competitions. MSI 2024 is the fifth international tournament that Knight has had the opportunity to participate in during his career. However, excluding the 2020 World Championship and MSI 2023, in just the 2022 World Championship and MSI 2024, Knight has lost 3 games against minor teams. Notably, the loss to GAM Esports also ended the veteran’s journey at the World Championship. At MSI 2023, Knight did not face any teams from the minor region, while at the 2020 World Championship, the opponent was only a very weak Unicorns of Love, which could never compare to GAM or PSG.
The “curse” every time facing minor region teams even “haunts” the BLG player to the Asian Games in Hangzhou. At this prestigious continental sports tournament, Knight’s Chinese team also almost suffered a defeat against the Vietnamese LoL team when they were taken down right in the opening match. If it weren’t for the significantly higher level of the opponent, perhaps the Bronze Medal would have belonged to the Vietnamese LoL team.
Clearly, the mentality and pressure weigh heavily on Knight, especially when the opponent is considered weaker than his team. This could be a critical weakness affecting Knight and BLG’s chances of competing for the title at MSI this time.