In the match on February 22 (Vietnam time) as part of LPL Spring 2022, Royal Never Give Up suffered a crushing defeat against Rare Atom. This was a result that even the most optimistic fans of RA might not have dared to dream of. The reason is that RA was in the lower half of the standings at that time, while RNG had just defeated the unbeaten LNG Esports in the highlight match of week 5 before.
But a surprise occurred, and RA didn’t even need a third game to resolve RNG. In game 1, RNG players couldn’t establish dominance over RA and were completely annihilated in the decisive stage at the end of the match. The top lane of RA completely outperformed Bin, which was the key factor helping this team gain the upper hand against the reigning MSI 2021 champions.
In game 2, both teams continued to trade blows, but the disparity between RA’s top lane and RNG’s was the factor that made the difference. Wei was unable to provide support, which immediately caused Bin to encounter issues while other lanes of RNG were frequently “visited” by Leyan. And on a day when Bin was too “behind” in the top lane, Xiaohu and GALA also couldn’t carry the team, making RNG’s defeat in game 2 inevitable.
Witnessing RNG’s weak defeat against a team from the lower half of the standings, the audience, especially fans of this team considered the “pride of LPL,” couldn’t remain calm. LPL viewers and RNG fans in China directed all criticism at Wei, who had an underwhelming performance that day. His being outplayed by Leyan was one of the primary reasons for RNG’s defeat.
Meanwhile, international audiences pointed out another name that is also a leading cause of RNG’s defeat: Bin. Being constantly camped is something beyond his control, but with his limited champion pool, Bin left both his teammates and fans uneasy. Some even bluntly stated that Bin is making RNG resemble Suning 2021 with his habit of “taking points from strong teams, giving points to weak teams.”
However, in the LPL, teams that want to be “Robin Hood” often cannot achieve good results. Especially in this LPL Spring, there are at least 4 teams threatening RNG’s top position, such as Weibo Gaming, Top Esports, LNG Esports, EDward Gaming, Bilibili Gaming… Not to mention the potential dangers from FunPlus Phoenix, Invictus Gaming, or JD Gaming… If careless, RNG could easily turn themselves into former MSI champions when entering the upcoming playoffs.