The LPL second stage playoffs lower bracket semifinals are over. BLG defeated AL with a clean 3-0 score to move into the lower bracket finals. The outcome was surprising; while everyone expected BLG to win, they didn't think AL would be crushed so thoroughly. AL continued to commit errors even when they were far ahead, for instance, leaving their base wide open to take an objective fight, completely ignoring their own nexus.

From coach picks and bans to team decisions and player performance, AL was completely outclassed by BLG. Flandre was shockingly poor in this BO5—in two of the three games, he fed a monstrous carry on his lane. In the first game, AL lost due to decision-making. It was already the late game; with the enemy having the dragon soul, trying to secure the Elder Dragon to end the match was reasonable, but ignoring minion waves and allowing the opponent to backdoor their base was truly absurd.

In the first game, Flandre's Shen indeed made his teammates comfortable. But from the second game onward, after Bin picked a fighter champion, the top lane was badly crushed. Facing Jayce, Flandre countered with K'Sante to play safe. By 4 minutes, Bin already had a 10+ CS lead and had taken turret plates. By 15 minutes, AL's bottom lane had built a huge advantage—Hope was 3k gold ahead—but the K'Sante on top was 2.5k behind.

Once the super-fed Jayce came online, he poked relentlessly in teamfights, and AL couldn't withstand it. Bin eventually won the match with a 3.7k gold lead over his opponent. In the final deciding game, Flandre pulled out his signature Rek'Sai against Bin's Renekton. Even with jungle assistance and an early kill, the top lane still lost turret plates and CS. By mid-game, Renekton completely outperformed Rek'Sai, looking like a war god in teamfights.

Even in the game where he tried relatively hard, Flandre was still behind in CS and had his turret plates taken. So across all three games, he fed the enemy every time. Among the LPL's top four top laners, even Cube hasn't been completely outclassed in every single game. Calling him the worst top laner among the top four is no exaggeration. Because of the huge gap in the top lane, Bin ultimately earned the series MVP with his outstanding performance.

Of course, blaming only Flandre for AL's loss would be unreasonable. The midlaner was invisible, the bot lane with a fed Lucian was too passive, and Tarzan even made basic mistakes like misdirecting Pantheon's ultimate. Apart from Ke which had relatively fewer issues, the other four players were all at fault. The coach was also questionable—by the third game, he had run out of ideas, drafting a weird lineup that even HLE couldn't win with.

At this point, AL may seriously need to consider roster changes for the third split. The ceiling of this lineup is clearly visible; if no adjustments are made, their year is essentially over. After defeating AL, BLG is just one win away from MSI. In the next BO5, they will face WE again. Barring surprises, BLG are likely to take revenge, and WE will become the "ticket seller," giving away two MSI tickets in just two matches.

After losing to Top Esports, WE's playstyle has been figured out. An upset in a rematch is highly unlikely. Moreover, after being upset once, BLG's discipline has improved significantly. When they first played WE, BLG had advantages in every game but somehow threw them away. Through the grind of these recent matches, the team is nearly at peak form, and it's unlikely they will lose to WE.

Conclusion:

Flandre's current playstyle is so predictable that you already know which champion he'll pick before the match even starts. Although he's older and his poor form can't really be blamed on him, his performance against Bin in this BO5 was truly disappointing. If he can't even hold his own with tanks, then his coach might as well consider going all-in with fighters—with jungle assistance, maybe a damage champion could actually work.

So, who do you think is most at fault on AL?

Feel free to leave a comment and discuss!