The lower bracket's first round of the LPL Split 3 playoffs is over. TES, who were highly anticipated by fans, have once again become a "laughingstock" in the League scene. In their match against IG, they played all five games but sadly fell short, making them the first team to exit in the LPL playoff quarterfinals.

In the bot lane, JKL was completely outclassed by JiaQi for five consecutive games. In the deciding game, JKL once again picked Zeri with Yuumi, but IG didn't give them any chance to turn the tide; they dominated the bot lane from start to finish. JiaQi's Aphelios and Meiko's Thresh both received perfect 10/10 ratings from the audience after the match.

He sent his former supports, "Si Shao" and Meiko, into the top six, but ended up stuck in the quarterfinals himself. One can only say that JKL is truly "great." In these two BO5s, if he hadn't stepped up to feed, Zuian might have actually carried TES to victory. In the BO5 against IG, the top lane was winning for four games.

Zuian matched TheShy without any disadvantage, with four advantages and one disadvantage in five games. He truly deserves the title of first-team top laner. But unfortunately, League of Legends is a team game; if his teammates can't step up, even a super top laner can't take over the match. Next, TES can take a break and prepare well for the Regional Qualifiers.

Besides TES losing to a "phoenix team," JDG, who ranked fourth in the Summit Group, also stumbled against NIP. JDG's loss in this match was even more embarrassing than TES's. NIP easily won in just three games, advancing to the top six of the playoffs, while JDG had no power to fight back throughout.

In these three games between JDG and NIP, JDG was at a disadvantage across the board. The bot laner, Gala, was in terrible form. If there were a competition for the worst AD of the day, Gala would definitely win. His performance was even more exaggerated than JKL's. As a late-game hypercarry, his Caitlyn's damage in a single game was nearly 50k behind the enemy EZ.

The first game lasted 39 minutes. Photic's EZ dealt 63k damage, while Gala's Caitlyn only dealt 16k. The gap was ridiculously large. It seems he's been hitting the gym a lot lately; his body fat percentage went down, but his brain stayed at the gym. The phrase "Save Gala" is likely to become a derogatory term because of him.

After JDG and TES were both eliminated in the quarterfinals, the LPL World Championship points have been updated. IG and NIP each gained 30 points. Adding the 5 and 10 points from the first split, IG now has a total of 40 points, while NIP has 35. Together with LGD (45 points), they are competing for the Regional Qualifier spots.

Before the playoffs started, IG could have secured a Regional Qualifier spot by winning just one BO5. But now that JDG and TES have stumbled, the situation has completely changed. For IG to make it to the Regional Qualifiers, they need to win at least two more matches, reach the lower bracket finals, and finish in the top three.

NIP and LGD are both in the lower bracket, and one of them is guaranteed to make it to the top four. The only way for IG is to first defeat WE, then beat the winner of LGD vs NIP in the lower bracket semifinals, thereby eliminating their competitors and securing a high seeding for the Regional Qualifiers. There is no other way.

The good news is that AL and BLG have both advanced to the upper bracket finals, so IG won't face them before securing the Regional Qualifier spot. However, the bad news is that IG's next opponent is very strong. WE defeated JDG 3-1 in the first round and even managed to take one game off BLG.

In terms of current form and strength, WE is ahead of TES. If IG can't find a way to counter them, they might stumble in the next match and be eliminated in the top six of the playoffs. However, IG is not without hope. After all, their ceiling is high; if they play well, they have a chance to make it into the top four.

Conclusion:

If they can't even get past WE, how can they talk about Worlds? I didn't expect Zhu Kai's words would now apply to IG as well. From now on, every match is a do-or-die battle for IG. At this point, we can only believe. Actually, against WE, if they can disrupt Mokin, who serves as coach, shotcaller, and pace-setter, it will be easier to win.

So, do you think IG can win three in a row?

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