Foreword: The S16 season has officially begun, and it is believed that the majority of players have been following the recent matches. The competition in the LPL region has been extremely intense. With the conclusion of the winners' bracket final, the first spot for the global Pioneer Tournament from the LPL region has been determined. As expected, BLG defeated JDG to secure this spot. Following this match, their mid-laner, Knight, has become the central topic of discussion across the internet. This marks his 11th time advancing to the LPL finals, an overall achievement that truly leaves all other players in the dust, having surpassed both Uzi and Clearlove. However, Zhu Kai stated that BLG simply cannot compete head-to-head with Gen.G.

LPL's Internal Top Player Title Changes Hands

It is believed most fans are quite familiar with the LPL region. In recent years, the LPL has developed rapidly with an increasing number of teams, although the overall competitive results have not been particularly optimistic. Fans have not held high hopes for the region's matchups, but this first stage of competition has seen the emergence of some strong LPL teams, such as the currently highly-watched BLG, JDG, and AL. It seems they all have the potential to challenge LCK teams, especially BLG and AL. In the recently concluded winners' bracket final, BLG defeated JDG 3-2, successfully securing the LPL's first spot in the Pioneer Tournament.

To be honest, this match was full of highlights. Across all five games, BLG held early-game advantages. In Game 1, they established a significant lead early on, with their gold advantage reaching nearly 9k by the 30-minute mark. However, they made a shocking decision to take Baron while conceding the Dragon Soul, ultimately losing the Elder Dragon to a steal by the enemy jungler on Jarvan IV. Despite this, they still held a gold lead when the game ended. BLG won Game 2, but it was an ugly victory, with Xun having two dragons stolen. In Game 3, BLG again built an early gold lead of around 7k, but positioning mistakes from ON and Xun allowed JunJia's Olaf to dominate, resulting in another thrown lead.

By Game 4, JunJia seemed overly aggressive, giving away kills repeatedly from the start. Xun's 8.1k gold lead over his counterpart was completely unstoppable. In the decisive Game 5, BLG's support Anivia bot lane completely opened up the map—the first support Anivia pick in the LPL's 16-year history. In the final teamfight, GALA was instantly eliminated, and JDG's efforts fell just short. Honestly, even though BLG won, it was a rather messy series. They had early advantages in all five games; a 5-0 scoreline wouldn't be an exaggeration. Even Tabe admitted in the post-match interview that this victory belonged to support player ON, whose champion pool effectively neutralized Tabe's draft strategies.

After this match, the title of the LPL's top player has changed hands. Mid-laner Knight has now reached the LPL finals for the 11th time, with his first appearance being in the 2020 Spring Split finals. He is undoubtedly the king of the younger generation, having missed qualification only during the S11 season, making it every other time. Interestingly, pre-match statistics show that BLG and JDG have faced each other many times, but the team with Knight has always emerged victorious. Truthfully, Knight is only missing a World Championship title to solidify his claim as the LPL's number one player, yet he tends to encounter issues whenever he reaches the world stage.

Farewell Thoughts

Initially, the LPL's top player was EDG's Clearlove. By the S7 and S8 seasons, it had shifted to Uzi. Although opinions on Knight are mixed, judging by his competitive form over the past few years, he is undoubtedly the strongest player within the region. This is precisely why he holds the highest market value in the LPL; even AL's manager Ai Xiao once publicly mentioned offering Knight a contract worth 50 million RMB. It would be genuinely great to see Knight win a World Championship—it all depends on his own efforts.

What are all your thoughts on this matter?