With only two BO5 matches left in the LCK playoffs, Heo (ShowMaker) failed to advance further against Lee (Faker), settling for the fourth seed. GEN swept past HLE into the finals, guaranteeing at least the second seed. Now T1 and HLE will battle for the final spot. If T1 can play as well as they did against DK, Faker (Lee) might still have a shot at the second seed.

However, the final champion seems predetermined. Like BLG, GEN has become invincible within their league. Barring surprises, this year will see both "left hand and right hand" (Chovy and Knight) winning their respective league titles simultaneously. Their dominance in domestic leagues is truly remarkable. The question remains whether they can win the World Championship this year. Chovy has reached the semifinals several times already; this year, he should at least break through that barrier.

LPL officially hints at Xiaohu's departure from the team.

The League of Legends 25th anniversary celebration is about to begin. The official has scheduled the exhibition match on the day of the finals. This year's guest lineup is interesting: besides retired veterans like Uzi and Crystal, the official also invited Sima. Additionally, active player Xiaohu is participating in the exhibition match. However, netizens noticed that Xiaohu seems to have already left WBG, as the official anniversary poster contains a clear hint.

Jiejie is also one of the few active players in this anniversary event, but his poster includes the EDG prefix, while Xiaohu's does not. Therefore, it's highly likely that Weibo (WBG) has parted ways with Xiaohu. A few days ago, a leaker mentioned that someone from WBG had left. If it wasn't a mistake by the amateur team, then the person leaving is indeed Xiaohu. With his departure, it seems the team is truly going to rebuild.

Hoya announces his farewell to the competitive stage.

The LPL playoffs dark horse NIP, after losing to LGD, missed out on the World Championship and has begun preparing for S17 early. Recently, their top laner Hoya posted a farewell to the LPL professional scene. The reason is that his military service is approaching, and he has to return to await the call. Although Hoya is a post-2000s player, he will be 27 next year, reaching the age of conscription. His three deferment qualifications should be exhausted, otherwise he wouldn't be leaving at this time.

Hoya has been in the LPL for four years. In the earlier seasons, he didn't achieve particularly outstanding results. However, in the past two years, his teams have been dark horses. This year, from the group stage to the playoffs, they went on an 8-game winning streak. Unfortunately, teams that come up through the "Knight's Path" have no margin for error—lose one game and you're eliminated. If he could continue playing, Hoya would have had a chance to join a strong team next year, but since he has reached the age for military service, there's not much he can do.

Brazilian player taunts opponent face-to-face offline.

The Brazilian League of Legends region has also started its playoffs. FUR swept RED 3-0 in the first round, advancing to the winners' bracket second round. During the match, an interesting incident occurred: FUR's jungler Tatu ran to the opposing team's bench at the end of the second game and taunted RED's jungler Stepz face-to-face. In all the years of League of Legends competitions, this is the first time something like offline face-to-face taunting has happened.

According to foreign media reports, RED's jungler had insulted RUR's jungler during a ranked game. Tatu couldn't swallow that insult and chose to confront him offline. This behavior, while not necessarily repulsive and even reminiscent of the passion of older-generation esports players, is actually a bit excessive. Typing taunts to each other is understandable, but face-to-face confrontation goes too far. Riot Games will likely impose penalties, as the impact is very negative.

Conclusion:

With the team cornerstone Xiaohu gone, WBG will truly undergo a major overhaul next year. However, there are only about a dozen talented players in the LPL right now. Even if they replace everyone, it seems unlikely they can assemble a particularly strong lineup. Unless BLG and AL both have poor results this year and their players choose not to stay, Weibo has money but nowhere to spend it.

What is your evaluation of Hoya?

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