The highlight match of the first week of LPL Spring 2022 between Weibo Gaming and Bilibili Gaming attracted significant attention from the global League of Legends community. However, the absence of Uzi left many fans somewhat “disappointed” and believed that an easy victory would be in store for TheShy, SofM, and their teammates. However, BLG showed they were not investing heavily to leave empty-handed for another season.
Game 1 unfolded as predicted by the audience, with TheShy utilizing the “200-year” champion Gwen, simultaneously activating “Top God” mode, which helped him lead Invictus Gaming to victory in Incheon years ago. WBG played nearly flawlessly, and TheShy’s headbutts threw the BLG players into disarray. WBG achieved a perfect victory in game 1 and took the lead.
However, even without Uzi, BLG had Fofo, Doggo, and especially jungler Weiwei. On a day of peak performance, this player overshadowed the “Vietnamese Jungle God” SofM. Meanwhile, the “200-year” champion Gwen was in the hands of Breathe, making TheShy’s unusual Viktor top lane ineffective. WBG could not finish off Gwen quickly, while the other members of BLG were strong enough to completely overpower and equalize the match.
Moving into game 3, BLG’s use of Ziggs allowed them to clean up WBG’s outer towers in no time. But on a day where he wasn’t at his best, SofM let Weiwei steal the first Baron, preventing WBG from regaining any advantage. Huanfeng had no chance to shoot even though he was clearly much stronger than Doggo with Ziggs. The final fight after WBG secured their second Baron saw TheShy and ON outnumbered 4 to 2. But even with Angel’s help, it was all too late.
Losing to BLG is not necessarily a disaster, but it does expose many issues for WBG, especially in game 3. Despite having a strong team composition, WBG was forced to follow the opponents’ playstyle. Not to mention, some positions in WBG during this match were not at their peak performance, such as Angel and SofM…
Nonetheless, this is just the first loss for WBG, and thanks to this defeat, they will have the opportunity to reorganize the team, preparing for greater challenges in the future against teams like EDward Gaming or Royal Never Give Up. Their key players need to quickly regain their peak form to help this team truly be a competitive candidate for titles.