S14 Pilgrimage of BLG: Golden Left Hand Strikes for Grand Slam, Can the All-Chinese Team Bring Dawn to LPL

As the team that won the 2024 LPL Summer Championship, BLG will compete with four teams that emerged from the play-ins, the first and second seeds from LEC and LCS, the remaining three seeds from LPL, and the four seeds from LCK, totaling 16 teams, to determine the final 8 teams that will advance to the knockout stage through the Swiss round.

In the Summer Championship final held on August 20 this year, BLG swept WBG with a strong 3-0 score, securing their second consecutive league title. The last time LPL saw a clean sweep in the finals was in the 2019 Spring Championship final when IG defeated JDG 3-0.

This is the second time in BLG's team history to enter the S series World Championship. After reaching the semifinals in their first appearance last year, their goal this time is to make up for the regret in Busan and achieve a breakthrough.

Top: bin

Every year, the release of the League of Legends World Championship theme song is Riot Games' "ultimate means" to warm up for the event. In this year's theme song, BLG's top player BIN transforms into a knight holding the team emblem flag, becoming one of the main characters in the promotional MV.

Looking back, BIN is indeed as shown in the promotional track, as a representative figure of the new generation of LPL, he carries countless expectations:

From his debut in SN in 2019, stunning the world with a pentakill in the finals; to joining RNG in 2022, where he first won his career's first Silver Dragon Cup as FMVP, then helped RNG defeat their biggest rival T1 on the MSI stage with three perfect performances as Gwen, winning the MSI championship trophy; to the crucial match of the 2023 S series quarterfinals, where against the number one seed from LCK, GEN, BIN led BLG to an incredible 3-2 victory, sending the pre-tournament favorite back home.

The above experiences and honors are enough to make an e-sports player a so-called legend, but for BIN, who just celebrated his 21st birthday, these so-called achievements are just fleeting clouds until he makes up for the biggest regret of his career. From once focusing solely on extreme operation heroes to becoming a player who can choose a tank to support his teammates, the constant is BIN's confident heart.

As a jungler skilled in carry junglers, the version changes in the summer split seemed to be the final straw that broke the balance. The poor performances at MSI and the Oil Cup led the management to bring WEI from RNG to BLG. However, at the start of the summer split, XUN was still BLG's starting jungler. It wasn't until XUN picked the only viable carry jungler in the current version, Nidalee, and still performed poorly, failing to help the team secure victories, that WEI took over. His outstanding and consistent performance continued until BLG won the Silver Dragon Cup. The identity of "BLG's water dispenser manager" was thus firmly established. Of course, XUN is expected to accompany BLG to the World Championship as a substitute player, but will the audience still have the chance to see him on screen? Mid: knight In the recent top player rankings for S14 released by foreign media, Chovy and Knight are ranked first and second respectively. This "left and right hand combination" has been intertwined with fate since their debut, and now, both hold multiple league championships and an MSI championship. Perhaps, in this year's World Championship, one of them will achieve the grand slam glory. Knight's past needs no further elaboration: from his stunning debut during the SNG period, earning 19 solo kills and 10 regular season MVPs in his first top-tier league appearance; to his rapid growth during the TES period, with his unforgettable Ekko at MSC ending the reign of the great demon king; to his dominance during the JDG period, coming just one step away from achieving the golden road, with the era of achievements still tinged with bitterness; to the rebirth in the BLG era, forming the strongest all-Chinese team, rekindling the fourteen-year-long desire of all LPL fans... But I still hope for a miracle, just like six years ago when a boy named Zhuo Ding emerged from YM, and the audience is wondering: will he be the future hope in the mid lane? Due to past experiences, the notion of "Golden Left Hand" underperforming on the World Championship stage has become a kind of consensus. Every year, the high expectations have not ultimately turned into a championship trophy, and this consensus is naturally understandable. Thus, at this moment, the 24-year-old Knight once again stands at the crossroads of his career. ADC: Elk "All the uncontrollable, passionate forces in the human heart inspire consciousness and resistance to struggle with his life."

Actually, ELK has always been competing with himself. He is a player who practices champions very diligently. From the AD carry meta champions like Aphelios, Zeri, and Jinx, to the utility and tempo meta champions like Ashe, Senna, and Jhin, and then to the strong laning phase champions like Lucian, Kalista, and Varus, he is always the first player to adapt to the meta. The price he pays for this is his hard work and sweat.

Only when one loses something do they cherish it. The ID "Jiumeng" has already shown the world the painful price of not cherishing opportunities in front of you and the regret and endless sadness caused by not striving with all your might for a thought. Thus, the surging power hidden deep in the heart, with the miraculous performance of breaking the damage record in the Spring Split, turned the pouring rain in Foshan on the day of the Spring Finals into golden rain.

From the data of this year's LPL Summer Split, ELK's average kills per game, damage per minute, and KDA are all at the top of his position, with his gold per minute ranking in the top three of his position. Although his performance in the regular season was not ideal, on the playoff stage, ELK used his stable performance in major tournaments and a pentakill in the finals to prove to the world that in critical moments for the team, he is still the one who is trustworthy and reliable.

"Even if Mount Tai collapses in front of him, his expression does not change; even if a deer springs up on his left, his eyes do not blink." Let us look forward to ELK's performance in S14!

Support: ON

Not only do WEI and BIN have old RNG ties, but ON and BIN also have ties from their youth training days—SNS. The 17-year-old ON and the 16-year-old BIN were both exposed to the entire professional system of League of Legends here. However, after a year of training, BIN was promoted to the first team, while ON had to continue to bide his time in the youth training.

(Correction: Previously, the author confused the birthdays of Bin and ON in the article. Thanks to the forum friends for pointing it out.)

However, their reunion was not too late. In the 2021 Spring Split, ON was also promoted to the SN first team. In that season, ON contributed to the famous scene of Miller saying "so handsome." However, after just a year, the two were separated again. In 2022, BIN went to RNG, and Theshy came to the renamed WBG from SN. This might have been ON's most "crazy" period, with almost every match's bullet screen refreshing with: "He's so handsome!"

After the season ended, ON came to BLG, where he once again met his old brother BIN. This time, both had shed the immaturity of their youth and gained some maturity. The good show started from the Demacia Cup. In 2023, ON won the first championship of his career—the Demacia Cup Championship.

We already know the rest of the story. They have won championships, had brilliant performances in world tournaments, and were selected for the first team in their respective positions. The youth training boys from SNS have become the new hope of the LPL.

ON is a player who can surprise you, but he is also inconsistent. From his career, this is a double-edged sword with both praise and criticism. Sometimes he can shock the entire audience with his silent thunder, and sometimes he will make "shovel actions" just to look cool. In today's increasingly refined tactical systems and personal skills, a team that wants to win the championship cannot have any weaknesses. All teammates must be as solid as a barrel to hold the sweet wine of victory.

Conclusion

We have to admit that BLG is currently the biggest trump card that the LPL can play. With double championships in the Spring and Summer Splits, they are undoubtedly the strongest team in the LPL right now. However, their losses in this year's MSI and the Oil Cup have cast a shadow over their seemingly smooth path.

But no matter what, in the context of the LPL's two-year slump, we urgently need a shot of adrenaline to rekindle the enthusiasm of the audience. Many years ago, we hoped for an all-Chinese team to win the S championship. The wheel of fate has been turning for a long time. On the stage of S14, can it turn to the moment we hope for?

(Yingtian)