As someone quite close to SofM, Doinb is very interested in Suning’s current situation. Moreover, the fact that the reigning world runner-up team shows signs of decline this season has made many LPL fans worried. In a recent stream, Doinb shared his views on SN’s current state:
“I see that support positions in teams are often the least changed. Many teams still use veteran players, like Ming and Meiko, for example. In fact, when support players’ contracts expire, they often extend with their current teams rather than switching to another team. At most, they only change their playstyle. As you can see, Suning has changed their support, and their mid-to-late game play cannot compare to last year. In some teams, supports play a secondary role, like TES, for instance…”
“But Suning is a different example; they are a team where the leader is positioned as support. Therefore, it would be quite strange to see that position change. This also needs to be evaluated in both the spring and summer tournaments. But you can see why teams like that often do not change their support for a long time.”
Doinb’s insights resonate with many LPL viewers. In reality, it wasn’t that Suning was willing to let SwordArt go, but rather the offer from North America was too enticing. With a salary of $6 million and a less harsh competitive environment, there’s no better league to… retire comfortably than the LCS. Even SofM has considered leaving the LPL to compete in NA.
One thing Doinb wants to emphasize here is that SwordArt plays a role similar to Ming of RNG or Meiko of EDG; they may not be the flashiest players on the team, but they are irreplaceable components.
The struggles of SofM and his teammates in facing “a life without SwordArt” have become increasingly apparent. Even in their rare victories during the LPL Spring 2021, they could only finish off their opponents after having a significantly better laning phase.
No less than three times, SN players have breathed a sigh of relief when their late-game missteps did not cost them a match loss.
With SwordArt gone, all the pressure of calling for fights and gathering information falls squarely on SofM’s shoulders. ON, while having improved, clearly cannot make the same impact as his predecessor.
Not only did SwordArt play a crucial role in expertise, but he also served as a connector among the team members. SN is a team with young players who tend to be reserved and “lazy” in communication, so having a lively older brother figure was a catalyst that made them perform much better.
After a year of building the roster, the players have become closer and more open with each other, but the absence of SwordArt sometimes causes issues with communication or raising discussion points related to the match. In other words, when SwordArt was around, SN members just had to “call for a fight” without needing to do much else, as the oversight of the game was handled by the two “big brothers” SwordArt and SofM. Now, however, things are different; they are lost in their search for more effective gameplay methods.
Perhaps, as Doinb pointed out, Suning will have to wait at least until the summer to adjust to life without SwordArt, similar to how they adapted in last year’s season.