The LPL are still going strong with four teams still in contention after Weibo Gaming triumphed over MAD Lions.
China's flag will be flying high after Weibo Gaming sent MAD Lions home in a fourth round do-or-die series at Worlds 2023. And with MAD's elimination from the tournament, it also means that there is only one LEC team left - G2 Esports. As for the LPL, it still has three more teams in contention for the Knockout Stage as JD Gaming had already qualified earlier.
With the way things are currently going for the region, it will come to no surprise if it was an LPL team that lifts the Summoner's Cup this year as the likes of JDG and Bilibili Gaming have more than enough to do what it takes to win. Even the likes of WBG who are the LPL's fourth seed was able to easily dismantle one of the LEC's best and brightest.
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Weibo GamingFor an organisation that is still relatively new in the LEC and Worlds, this was another disappointing run for MAD, whose best campaign was back in 2021 where it made the quarter-finals of the world championship. In the first match of the series, it was WBG who took the early start for the first 15 minutes. But soon after, it was actually MAD who came back swinging with the help of Yasin “Nisqy” Dincer who had nine kills, three deaths, and five assists on Sylas. Sadly, it wasn't enough as WBG replied in kind with some great team fight coordination.
Renata Glasc has been one of the better support champion picks in recent games, and she proved to a crucial choice for Lu “Crisp” Quing-Song, who got 18 assists in the match to go with a single kill and two deaths. Yuan Hao “xiaohu” Li's was also underwhelming as he only had one kill and five deaths, but more than made up for it with 12 assists to his name. Fortunately for WBG, they had Guang-Yu “Light” Wang to help them see through the first game as he came up clutch with 11 kills, three deaths, and eight assists on Kalista.
And despite its near-comeback in the first game, it looked like MAD was out of ideas and running out of fumes. The second match was a much easier contest for WBG, who managed to hold MAD back to just five kills the entire game. It was all on Javier “Elyoya” Prades Batalla who picked up four of MAD's five overall kills with Vi while Matyáš “Carzzy” Orság got a consolation kill at the end. Crisp had another great game with Renata Glasc, further cementing her viability in the meta. But it was Kang “TheShy” Seung-Iok who had a stellar game with Aatrox. His initiations followed by the ability to tank so much damage was one of the reasons WBG was so successful in the second game victory.
That win will put WBG into the final best-of-three series on Saturday where they will have a chance of making it to the Knockout Stage at its first-ever Worlds appearance. While the team does boast the experience of two championship-calibre players, WBG will have to do a lot more if they want a shot at the Knockout Stage.
