Ever since AL was ruthlessly crushed by BLG in the playoffs, many AL fans have been questioning the strength of top laner Saint Gun and AD carry Hope, believing that these two players are currently AL's biggest weaknesses. Some viewers even bluntly stated that as long as AL has Saint Gun and Hope, the team will never win a championship. After all, Saint Gun makes every opposing top laner "feel comfortable" in each match, while Hope in the bot lane is known as a "choke artist in crucial games." No matter how large the early advantage is, he cannot help the team secure victory.

Due to the poor public perception of AL's top laner and bot lane player, a screenshot of a group chat allegedly from "AL manager Ai Xiao" surfaced online. The content hinted that after EWC, AL would undergo roster changes. As soon as the screenshot appeared, public opinion exploded. However, multiple sources quickly confirmed that it was purely a photoshopped rumor—Ai Xiao himself never said those words. Even LPL champion coach Zhu Kai assured viewers during his livestream that there will definitely be no player or coaching changes at AL in the future.

Zhu Kai believes that AL still has to participate in the July Esports World Cup (EWC), and swapping players temporarily could ruin AL's performance there. He also noted that AL has already changed coaches twice during the first and second splits, so it's impossible to have a third coach change in the third split—after all, no team in League of Legends history has changed coaches three times within a single year. Personally, I think the chances of AL making roster changes in the third split are very low, especially since there are no good domestic players available on the LPL market—unless AL, like TES, boldly promotes LDL players.

LPL World Championship points ranking updated

With BLG successfully advancing to the lower bracket finals, BLG has secured at least 50 points in the second split. Currently, BLG tops the LPL World Championship points leaderboard with 130 points. Many LPL casters and streamers believe BLG will reach the finals and win the second split championship. In particular, LPL caster Miller stated that BLG's ceiling and strength surpass those of TES, so BLG qualifying for MSI would be a good thing for the LPL. (What do you think are the chances of BLG winning the MSI championship?)

Currently, the second place on the points leaderboard is TES, and the third is JDG. Meanwhile, WE—hailed as the biggest dark horse in the LPL playoffs—secured a guaranteed 50 points from the loser bracket finals, surpassing AL to take fourth place. In contrast, AL and WBG, who were hyped up during the transfer window, are only fifth and sixth. BLG currently faces the least pressure regarding World Championship points in the LPL, since 130 points means that even if BLG fails to make the playoffs in the third split, they are still eligible to compete in the LPL Regional Qualifiers.

WBG, on the other hand, faces the most pressure, as they have already fallen into the Phoenix Group for the third split. If WBG cannot achieve a one-vs-three run in the third-split playoffs and secure at least a top-four finish, they won't even qualify for the most basic Regional Qualifiers. WBG's management is truly something else—other teams kick out whoever is weak, while WBG adopts a strategy of kicking out whoever is strong. TheShy, Tarzan, and this year even Tian and Erhao were let go by WBG's management.