Recently, the match in the lower bracket finals of the LPL Spring 2024 playoffs took place, with Top Esports ultimately claiming victory. However, alongside the stellar performance from the TES players, it must be noted that JD Gaming lost their identity. No one could recognize the LPL team that was so close to a “Grand Slam title” last year. JDG has also lost the chance to defend their MSI 2024 championship, which will be held in their home country soon.
Notably, after the match, many opinions arose regarding Ruler’s attitude towards Kanavi. Specifically, Ruler refused to stand next to Kanavi during the audience greeting. However, many believe this could just be Ruler’s habit and that there is no issue between them. Yet, the situation is far from simple as recent LPL media has uncovered more evidence suggesting Kanavi is indeed the “black sheep” of the current JDG lineup.
Accordingly, some fans intentionally tracked the ranked history of JDG players during the period from when the LPL Spring 2024 playoffs began until their elimination (about 10 days). During this time, the two players with the most ranked games were Flandre and Yagao – the two new members of JDG, with 74 and 85 games respectively. Meanwhile, Ruler played 53 games, and the numbers for Missing and Sheer (JDG’s Top Lane substitute) were 46 games. However, Kanavi only played 38 ranked games during this same period.
Of course, no one can say that ranked games completely determine a player’s performance or affect the team’s atmosphere. But clearly, there is too much evidence to show that Kanavi is a problem for JDG. Not to mention, in the very decisive playoff match against TES, Kanavi was also at a disadvantage compared to Tian.
Coincidentally, some opinions have referenced the old Griffin. Perhaps many people still remember that one of the reasons GRF disbanded was due to internal conflicts among the Top Lane position with two players, Sword and Doran. At that time, Kanavi also faced troubles with this team, but from a different angle. However, how internal conflicts among teammates can turn a strong team into ruins is something Kanavi knows all too well. To this day, many fans still lament for GRF as their players from that year, except for Sword, have all found success in other teams.
Clearly, Kanavi is a player who understands the issues that can arise from internal conflicts. But now, he is the one caught up in the story. And if JDG and the players do not resolve the matter thoroughly, no one knows what might happen after the conclusion of the 2024 season.