On March 2nd, during the LPL Spring 2022 matches, Weibo Gaming suffered a 2-0 defeat against Royal Never Give Up. In fact, while RNG played excellently, the WBG players seemed to be “shooting themselves in the foot.” The match, which was anticipated to be a highlight, turned out to be devoid of any thrilling chases or spectacular moments. At times, it felt like RNG was “just having fun” while WBG was “feeding” relentlessly.
Notably, in this match, the top lane trio consisting of TheShy, SofM, and Angel were the most criticized names. Expected to strengthen the WBG lineup after Bin’s departure, TheShy did not show up as his former self in this reunion against his former teammate Bin.
In game 1, Graves in Shy’s hands showed some utility by consistently dominating Bin’s lane, but only with the help of Wei and Ming could Bin secure a victory. In game 2, however, he turned into an “ATM” for RNG’s members to exploit as he played Akshan. In fact, throughout the game, TheShy could not secure a single kill, ending game 2 with an astonishingly poor score of “0/7/0.”
Meanwhile, SofM and Angel, much like TheShy, had a forgettable match. Using his “signature” Lee Sin in game 1 and “200 years of experience” Viego in game 2, SofM’s performance mirrored that of TheShy. The “Vietnamese jungle god” failed to secure objectives, his ganks were unsuccessful, and he contributed little in team fights.
On the other hand, Angel’s Ahri was simply ineffective. No one could recognize the “Angel” who once defeated the 2021 Worlds champion Scout or “shut down” Doinb’s Ryze with a 100% win rate anymore. Angel was completely unable to take initiative with Ahri and could only run away whenever the RNG team overwhelmed him.
Witnessing WBG players lose in the most pathetic manner, even “seeking their own demise” by continuously charging into RNG members despite being at a significant disadvantage, LPL fans in general, and WBG supporters specifically, were understandably upset. Some even condemned WBG’s style of play as humiliating.
Additionally, the coaching staff also came under fire. Many fans were confused as to why WBG’s coaches allowed Angel to play Ahri in both games when he had already shown his inefficacy in the first game. Not to mention the Akshan pick was utterly useless for TheShy, especially since that champion is currently out of the meta and rarely seen.
Nevertheless, generally speaking, WBG is not entirely out of hope yet. They still maintain a top position after this defeat. Looking further ahead, perhaps it is from the loss against RNG that WBG will realize where they stand, leading to better preparations for the upcoming LPL Spring 2022 playoffs, which are expected to be even more intense.