Coach Dan Shen's bizarre BP choices are blasted.

As the top-segment winner of the LPL, many LPL viewers were highly confident about BLG's debut match in the Pioneer Tournament. BLG's top-laner Bin openly stated in an interview that BFX is an unknown team, and BLG could easily win with just a bit of preparation. Additionally, during the offseason, a coach from the Brazilian region leaked in a live stream that BFX didn't win against Brazilian team LOUD during Pioneer Tournament training matches, so many BLG fans expected BLG to crush BFX.

The result of the first game in this BO5 match was exactly as LPL viewers predicted. Top-laner BIN dominated in team fights with his weapon, achieving a 1v5, while mid-laner Left Hand also secured multiple solo kills against BFX's mid-lanerVicLa, and the player dubbed the Korean version of Uzi,Diable, "went invisible" under the absolute disadvantage of the top and mid lanes. After seeing BFX's flawed gameplay, many viewers prematurely celebrated and even sparked trending topics on forums like "How did T1 lose to BFX?"

When BLG fans thought BLG would sweep BFX 3-0 in their first match, Coach Dan Shen started "making moves." In the second game, BFX gained a huge advantage in the BP phase: top-laner Clear's crocodile steadily suppressed BIN's Sion, and BFX's bot lane Jinx and Karma also secured a significant advantage in lane. Meanwhile, Coach Dan Shen's BP choices were criticized across the internet. Both LPL match commentators and veteran players like UZI and Crystal commented during live streams that they couldn't understand BLG's BP.

Dan Shen chose Sion for BIN, who had performed exceptionally well in the previous game, and picked Ezreal and Nami for the bot lane duo. Uzi sharply remarked during his stream that this BLG bot lane combo seemed like a random pick by casual players. Dan Shen's third-game BP, which put all three lanes at a disadvantage, frustrated many BLG fans. Numerous BLG supporters complained that if Dan Shen's BP had been slightly more normal, BLG could have beaten BFX 5-0. However, Dan Shen kept making unconventional choices, leading to a full BO5 match against BFX and exposing many BP strategies.

Securing a win against LCK after 515 days

Although Coach Dan Shen's BP choices were heavily questioned by viewers, BLG's individual players' skills still overpowered BFX, so BLG ultimately won 3-2, securing their opening victory in the Global Pioneer Tournament. It's worth noting that the last time an LPL team defeated an LCK team in a World Championship BO5 was 515 days ago, during the S14 World Championship when BLG beat HLE. (S15 was arguably the most despairing year for LPL, as no LPL team—whether TES, AL, or BLG—won a single BO5 against LCK throughout the year.)

After BLG defeated BFX, Bin immediately posted, saying "For international matches, look at BLG." This statement received widespread support from LPL viewers and, as its popularity grew, climbed to the top of trending searches. Undeniably, BIN's performance in this BO5 was impressive, and BLG has indeed been the LPL's beacon in international competitions over recent years. Since 2023, BLG has defeated LCK seven times in BO5 matches at international tournaments, so Bin's statement is certainly valid.

Conclusion

I genuinely hope BLG can win the championship in this Pioneer Tournament. Of course, BLG also exposed many issues during the matches. Do you think BLG losing two games to BFX was due to BP? Also, who do you think will win in the BO5 showdown between JDG and GEN? Considering GEN crushed BFX effortlessly, which team do you believe has a better chance of winning the championship: BLG or GEN?