Another season of World Championship (2022 WC) is coming to an end with many surprising developments from the teams and players. Notably, we cannot overlook the failures of the LPL teams, as for the first time since Invictus Gaming (IG) claimed the title in 2018, no representatives from this region reached the finals of a WC. The disappointment is even greater as many fans had considered these to be the four strongest representatives from the region in recent years before the tournament.
Media in the LPL region did not miss the opportunity to dissect the failures of all four representatives at the 2022 WC. Many reasons were provided, from players’ health to LCK teams performing visibly better, but there were also some common opinions that received a lot of agreement.
First, it was noted that LPL representatives had “self-defeated” in numerous matches, especially when facing weaker opponents. A prime example of this “self-defeat” is TOP Esports. When up against Rogue and GAM Esports, TES made several mistakes leading them to exit early after the Group Stage.
Another reason is that the players’ form was not really good, such as JD Gaming – highly rated but performed just as well as DWG KIA – a representative from LCK that was not in great form. Many opinions suggest that LPL players were not truly focused on maintaining their best form at this WC.
However, the biggest factor leading to the differences between LPL and LCK is the conservative mindset in the playstyle of LPL teams. While the LCK region has many compositions, and the champion pool of the players is wide enough to accommodate various playstyles, LPL teams tend to focus on strong team fight choices. But when this playstyle is read, LPL teams lack the necessary flexibility to adapt accordingly.
The LPL playstyle is famous for being aggressive and favoring spectacular team fights. However, this aspect has inadvertently become a weakness for LPL teams when facing strong opponents worldwide. Currently, all LPL teams have exited the 2022 WC, but if these weaknesses are not addressed soon, they will find it very difficult to surpass their arch-rivals LCK in the coming seasons.