In the League of Legends Global Pioneer Tournament group stage, there are only two more BO5 matches left before entering the knockout stage. On the previous match day, when GEN faced LYON in Group B, they achieved a 3:0 victory effortlessly. The total duration of this BO5 was merely 76 minutes and 27 seconds. Earlier, JDG versus GE lasted 77 minutes and 24 seconds. LYON broke JDG's record by a margin of 57 seconds. It seems GEN wasn't here to compete, but to speedrun?

GEN's victory over LYON was inevitable, but winning so easily somewhat disrespects other divisions. From the coaching staff to the players, GEN's competitive state is uniquely dominant. If they can maintain this, the championship of the Pioneer Tournament will again have no suspense. Although our division's BLG is also strong, they don't dominate every match. In comparison, GEN is somewhat terrifying.

Another match was JDG versus LOUD, our division's second seed against a former wildcard division. The match was also without suspense, as JDG secured a 3:0 victory over LOUD to advance to the losers' bracket final. In the next match, the two teams that continuously刷新ed the BO5 speedrun record will compete in a BO5 for a knockout spot. Without unexpected circumstances, JDG should defeat LYON and enter the top four alongside BLG.

In this Global Pioneer Tournament, seven matches have already been completed. The gap between divisions can only be described as overwhelmingly large. Among the seven matches, only BFX versus BLG and LOUD versus LYON were full BO5s. The remaining five matches were all 3:0 sweeps. The first eliminated team, TSW, did not win a single game and was consistently crushed by opponents. European and American teams also face the same against Chinese and Korean teams.

With such a断层 in strength, the quality of Pioneer Tournament matches is not as high as imagined. European G2 and North American LYON are now both on the brink. G2 likely cannot defeat BFX, and LYON is similar. The final teams entering the top four may all be Chinese and Korean teams. Audiences from our two divisions are pleased, but other divisions, unable to achieve results in international competitions, are greatly affected.

European知名主播 and official co-stream commentator欧刚 revealed during a recent live broadcast that LEC will completely deteriorate next year. Except for away matches in the S17 season, all LEC competitions may be held online. This means the European league has abandoned offline competitions. Clearly,热度 in major divisions is declining. LPL and LCK are still relatively stable, while European and American divisions are experiencing severe观众流失.

Reviewing the LEC division finals, the matchup between the two网红 teams G2 and KC shows that观众 compared to previous years have significantly decreased, with many seats empty. Although the North American division hasn't announced取消线下赛, it has already deteriorated. Regular matches are only BO1, with just two matches per week. Players seem to be in a养老 state. Originally, FLY had some competitiveness, but after Bwipo left, North America completely declined.

If this continues for another 2-3 years, LOL competitions may only have LCK entertaining themselves. Our division's current situation is also尴尬, with基本上 no domestic新人. Major clubs are buying Korean rookie talents this year. If we cannot win a world championship this year or next, division热度 and观众 will continue to decline, leaving LCK一枝独秀 internationally.

Conclusion:

The LEC division is also ranked third among global leagues. However, since the league competitions began, only FNC won the global总决赛 championship in the S1 season, when LPL and LCK were not yet established, and观众基本上 did not recognize it. In the past decade, the best international results were an MSI championship and a world亚军, significantly落后 compared to Chinese and Korean divisions.

So, how many more years do you think LOL competitions can sustain?

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