It can be said that the Spring 2024 season has witnessed many surprises in notable tournaments around the world. For example, in the VCS, the match-fixing scandal remains unresolved, leading to the reluctant return of several legends and retired superstars. Or T1’s strong sprint at the end of the playoffs culminated in a tense BO5 match against Gen.G in the LCK finals. But perhaps the most shocking surprise is JD Gaming – a team that dominated almost entirely in 2023, now has been eliminated from MSI 2024.
The “all-star” lineup of LPL actually underwent a significant change, specifically Yagao replaced Knight in the Mid Lane and Flandre along with Sheer took turns in the Top Lane position. But no one can explain why a team that only changed two positions, with quality substitutes, lost cleanly to Top Esports with a score of 1-3. JDG became the former champion of MSI even though they had no chance to defend this title.
What’s more concerning is the attitude of the players after the match. Specifically, a clip recorded by a fan showed that after the match, while the entire team was greeting the audience, the staff at the stadium suggested Ruler stand in the middle of the lineup. However, Ruler then moved to the outside. Many keen observers noted that at that moment, Ruler’s gaze fell on Kanavi, who was standing there, leading him to change his position.
However, beneath the clip, there were fierce debates. Some opinions suggested that there might have been disagreements between Kanavi and Ruler during the match, making Ruler feel that there was no need to stand beside his teammate. But others argued that this was just a “conspiracy theory”: “Is this just a fabricated story? It seems Ruler intended to move to another spot, and he didn’t even notice Sheer trying to make space for him in the middle. If there were conflicts between Kanavi and Ruler, this definitely isn’t evidence of that.”
Nevertheless, it seems that all of this will remain just debates. The players themselves have entered a break after a stressful season, and perhaps no one understands why JDG performed so poorly compared to their past. And everything may only become clearer once the Summer 2024 season officially begins.