LCK Fans Pessimistic About Gen.G After LNG’s Defeat
With a 3-0 record in the Swiss stage and a devastating performance, LNG and Gen.G were seen as highly-rated teams before the quarterfinals of Worlds 2024 commenced. However, in the first quarterfinal match of the tournament, it was WBG that performed better than LNG in terms of bans/picks, strategy execution, and team fights. Consequently, WBG convincingly defeated LNG to advance to the semifinals.
After the match, LNG’s former T1 player, Scout, became a target for criticism from fans in the LPL region. Many fans even called for Scout to retire early as he failed to make a significant impact to help LNG secure a victory. Furthermore, this loss for Scout and his teammates demonstrated that the 3-0 record in the Swiss stage did not hold much meaning, and they could be easily defeated.
This situation has left LCK fans feeling pessimistic about Gen.G’s (another team with a 3-0 record in the Swiss stage) chances in this year’s tournament. They fear that the “curse” of a team with a 3-0 record being eliminated early could transfer from LNG to Gen.G. Moreover, Gen.G also found themselves in a similar position last year at Worlds with a 3-0 record in the Swiss stage but faced disappointment shortly after.
Gen.G Still Has Much to Prove
The concerns of LCK fans are entirely justified as Gen.G is not a particularly “prestigious” name in the Worlds history. It is worth noting that since Gen.G officially entered the professional League of Legends scene, their best performance at Worlds has only been reaching the semifinals. Naturally, with only FlyQuest (the LCS representative) to face in the quarterfinals, this team is unlikely to be eliminated right away. However, Gen.G struggles to instill confidence in fans that they can win the tournament, especially after a team with a 3-0 record like them (LNG) was just eliminated.
Fairly speaking, Gen.G’s international competitiveness has significantly improved this season as they won MSI 2024. However, the Worlds stage is entirely different and requires Gen.G to mature much more to reach this title. Interestingly, since the “golden generation” of SKT T1 in 2016, no team has been able to win both MSI and Worlds in the same season. If Gen.G cannot overcome this “curse,” they will likely face a lot of negative feedback following this year’s Worlds.