The 2021 season was a major success for the Chinese League of Legends scene. Royal Never Give Up dominated MSI 2021 after defeating DWG KIA, representatives from their “arch-rival” LCK. EDward Gaming then went on to beat DK to claim the championship at Worlds 2021. The LPL completely ruled the League of Legends scene during the tumultuous year of 2021.
But while EDG can be satisfied with their victory in the biggest tournament in the League of Legends scene, a traditional representative of the LPL – the reigning MSI champion RNG – is far from happy. After MSI 2021, this team went through a rocky start in the Summer Split of 2021. They also faced controversy when former player Mlxg accused them of owing him salary for livestreaming for a long time. At Worlds 2021, RNG struggled immensely, having to bow out in the Quarterfinals after losing to EDG in the LPL derby.
For RNG, not winning tournaments they participate in equates to failure. Especially since this team carries the pride of China with the motto “only use domestic players.” In the recent off-season transfer window, RNG bid farewell to Cryin – a player considered the team’s “weak point.” Xiaohu returned to the mid lane, and RNG recruited Bin – the former star from Weibo Gaming for the top lane, as well as bringing in coach KenZhu – a member of EDG’s coaching staff that recently won in Iceland.
Recently, RNG showed their determination to dominate every tournament. Specifically, according to Xiaohu, coach KenZhu will not allow them to take a holiday if their win rate during practice is below 75%. As a result, the players must try hard to the maximum. This has excited RNG fans, but many of them have also expressed concern over coach KenZhu bringing the “maximum try hard” mentality from EDG to RNG.
Additionally, there are opinions suggesting that moving Xiaohu to mid lane might diminish his effectiveness as well as that of RNG. The reason being, Xiaohu has shown immense talent in the top lane, while in the mid lane, he is only performing at an average level.
However, overall, everyone must admit that RNG truly needs “military law.” They have suffered defeats from Summer 2021 to Worlds 2021. Therefore, RNG must quickly rectify their course to step into the new season. Especially as other teams are making quality additions to their rosters and will certainly pose a significant challenge on RNG’s journey.