In the 2021 season, representatives from China who had previously participated in Worlds 2020 (Top Esports, Suning, JD Gaming, LGD Gaming) had to stay home and watch the biggest tournament in the LoL scene on television. This reflects the fierce competition in the LPL and shows that the teams themselves have encountered unresolved issues. Particularly, the team that garnered the most interest from the Vietnamese LoL community is Suning (currently Weibo Gaming) – the team of “Vietnam’s God of the Jungle” SofM.
In the 2021 season, SN had a very poor performance. In Spring 2021, they were eliminated by TES in the third round of the playoffs. In Summer 2021, “The LPL Lions” made it to the playoffs but lost to LNG Esports right in the first match with a score of 3-2. At that time, many speculated that SN’s decline was mainly due to the departure of the experienced support SwordArt, leading to a lack of true leadership and team calls during competitions.
However, recent documentary footage released by LPL featuring SN revealed many hidden aspects of this team and pointed out another reason for “The LPL Lions”‘s failure in the 2021 season. It turns out that the relationship between SofM and the former top laner of SN – Bin, during competitions was not as good as when they were outside. Moreover, SN’s coaching staff commented: “They only share unity at the lowest level.”
According to the clip, Bin always wanted SofM to play around his style and revolve around him. However, SofM disagreed with this style of play as he still had many objectives on the map to contest, and other teammates also needed support, depending on the game situation. This dissatisfaction from Bin was evident, but he had no way to convince SofM.
SofM himself also admitted: “I feel that we do not understand each other. In teamfight situations, each of us has our own thoughts.” In the clip, SN’s coaching staff also admitted that Bin could not adapt to SofM’s playstyle even though they had fought together for quite some time. Bin tried to communicate with SofM, but this top laner also faced issues.
The relationship between SofM and Bin during competitions surprised many LPL and SN fans, as well as SofM’s fans in Vietnam. This is because, outside of the game, SofM and Bin can be considered quite close. When they were on the same team, SofM and Bin lived in the same room and often went shopping together. SofM even donated to Xiaohu (Bin’s new teammate) to ask him to “take care” of Bin in SofM’s absence.
LPL viewers also expressed their surprise at the competitive relationship between SofM and Bin.
However, thanks to this footage, a very different relationship between SofM and Bin during competitions is revealed. Ultimately, the decision of WBG’s management to part ways with Bin may be reasonable. It remains to be seen whether TheShy can perform better, but at least, Bin and SofM will no longer have to compete together with differing thoughts.