In the match on January 21 (Vietnam time), Weibo Gaming faced off against ThunderTalk Gaming in the LPL Spring 2022. The match was expected to be an easy win since TT was at the bottom of the standings, but everything turned out contrary to all predictions. The WBG roster faced numerous difficulties and had to wait until game 3 to finally conclude the match.
Except for game 1, WBG struggled in almost every game. The shining star of WBG – Huanfeng had some decent plays, especially when he almost secured a pentakill in game 1. However, it can be said that Huanfeng was the most stable player in the WBG lineup during the recent match. Notably, although he didn’t perform as prominently as SofM’s Kha’Zix, he still demonstrated the usual “vision hacking”.
Angel and especially SofM did not have particularly good matches against TT. In all three games, except for the “self-destruct” game 3 from TT in general and the jungler Frigid in particular, SofM did not significantly outshine his opponents. The highlight of the “Vietnamese Jungle God” throughout the match was the Baron steal in game 2, but afterward, the entire WBG team was nearly wiped out by TT.
As for TheShy, he controlled the laning phase well. However, “Shy” also had moments where he couldn’t keep up with his teammates’ fights. This was one of the matches where the 2018 World Champion used Gragas, but he only really functioned as a tank in game 3. TheShy’s experiment with AP Gragas in game 2 completely failed, even though he had a better laning phase than his opponent. In fact, TheShy’s Gragas even managed to solo kill New’s Gangplank, but that was the most notable highlight for this player in game 2.
The performance of SofM and his teammates took fans on an emotional rollercoaster. LPL fans did not hesitate to suggest that WBG should change their name to “Circus” due to their “comedic” playstyle in the recent match.
Overall, WBG had a very difficult match, and both SofM and his teammates still did not provide a sense of security. The team’s performance still heavily relies on individual players, and if they do not adjust soon, the journey ahead for the entire team will be incredibly challenging when facing larger obstacles such as Royal Never Give Up or EDward Gaming.