With a strong performance in the recent Swiss round, it’s hard to believe that LNG Esports (LNG) fell so quickly against T1. Scout and his teammates played at an unbelievably low level, continuously making poor decisions. As a result, they became the next team after NRG to be eliminated from the 2023 World Championship (Worlds) with a disappointing score of 0-3.
This performance from LNG has left many LPL fans disappointed. It’s hard to imagine stars like Scout and Tarzan playing so poorly in the Quarterfinals of the 2023 Worlds. Even LPL English commentator Hysterics compared LNG to Gen.G and posed the question: “Which team was more disappointing?”
This is indeed a tough question to answer since both teams performed poorly compared to fan expectations in their respective regions. For Gen.G, they entered the Quarterfinals of the 2023 Worlds as the number one seed from LCK and had a 3-0 record in the Swiss stage. Meanwhile, their opponent Bilibili Gaming (BLG) was seen as having dropped in form since MSI 2023. Yet, Gen.G suffered a heartbreaking 2-3 defeat, allowing their opponent to secure too many strong champions.
For LNG, they didn’t have as strong a record as Gen.G, finishing as runners-up in the LPL Summer 2023. However, they also had a 3-1 record equal to T1 in the Swiss round and were seen as having a chance to reach the Semifinals. Thus, LNG’s embarrassing 0-3 defeat against T1 is hard for many fans to accept.
This was a Worlds for Gen.G that had high expectations after securing their third consecutive LCK championship. Meanwhile, LNG was only the third seed from the LPL, so it’s hard for expectations to match those of Gen.G. For this reason, it seems Gen.G’s disappointment at the 2023 Worlds will be slightly greater than that of LNG.
Regardless, the 2023 Worlds remains a failed campaign for both Gen.G and LNG. These two teams need to make significant improvements in the near future, not only to overcome the pain of the 2023 Worlds but also to regain the trust of their fans.