LPL is Facing Difficulties
In recent years, regarding international performance, only the MSI stage has allowed Chinese League of Legends teams to “shine” as they have held 3 out of 4 championships since 2021. However, MSI is not highly regarded by many teams, forcing Riot to change the format to make it more appealing starting in 2023. At the Worlds Championship, LPL has almost completely lagged behind LCK, having only won the championship once in 2021 thanks to Edward Gaming.
Poor performance is one of the reasons why League of Legends is gradually “losing its heat” even in the land of a billion people. The rapid development of mobile games and streamers of this game here has also lost its appeal, the fan community has not developed, and viewership for domestic tournaments has plummeted to the point of even falling behind VCS (according to statistics from September this year). Additionally, the government has imposed restrictions on playtime, contributing to the precarious state of League of Legends in China. There are also several other subjective and objective reasons affecting this region.
In this context, if BLG wins the Worlds 2024, it would not only “cleanse” the grievances of LPL, as they have never been able to defeat SKT T1/T1 in BO3/BO5 matches at this tournament but could also have a significant impact on LPL. Currently, what people hope for in Chinese League of Legends is for LPL to reclaim dominance at Worlds, not just the familiar MSI stage.
However, even if BLG wins, there are still many other issues within LPL
However, in reality, one must also mention that at BLG currently, apart from unique personalities like Bin or highly skilled players like Knight, there is no one else who can be considered influential in LPL. Even in terms of stature and coverage, Bin or Knight cannot compare to the “veterans”. The fame of these two cannot be compared to TheShy, Uzi, or Doinb, Rookie. If they rise to prominence (if at all), it will be difficult to create the same strong impact as IG, FPX, or EDG did in establishing and maintaining LPL’s dominance.
The only advantage of BLG is that they have a “fully Chinese” roster and are the only LPL team without foreign players to reach the finals of a Worlds tournament. But this can also create reverse pressure. From here, BLG will be forced to win. If they achieve any other result, they may face disappointment far greater than that of their predecessors.