The League of Legends Global Pioneer Tournament wrapped up with BLG lifting the trophy. Winning this championship after a three-year gap was a crucial lifeline for LPL. In the S14 and S15 seasons, LPL failed to achieve any international success, resulting in viewer disillusionment and a continuous drop in league热度. BLG's title win brought back the spotlight on the matches. After the commencement of the first stage, LPL's热度 should see a substantial recovery.

However, securing the冠军 truly requires thanking G2. Who could have predicted that GEN, hailed as a top contender for the冠军, would be swept by G2? Consecutively defeating two Korean teams and ultimately handing the冠军 to LPL, one can only say Caps is truly remarkable. G2's performance also gave hope to both LEC and LPL fans, showing that LCK teams are not unbeatable; even a powerhouse like GEN can be cleanly swept 3:0 by a European squad.

GEN is under official investigation for match-fixing.

After LCK's全军覆没, GEN's excessively poor performance led to collective reporting by Korean viewers. LCK官方 also高度重视 this matter. Before GEN even returned home, they had the Esports Integrity Commission, Tournament Discipline Committee, and Seoul Police Cyber Investigation Unit ready. Upon GEN's return, they will face investigation from these three parties. If match-fixing is confirmed, the entire GEN team will face severe penalties.

Match-fixing in LCK is illegal. GEN certainly wouldn't engage in such activities, as the club is仅次于 T1 within LCK, and its players are among the highest-paid. They wouldn't need to earn money through match-fixing. However, viewers found it too unbelievable for a top seed to be swept by a European team, hence calling for an official investigation. LCK values public opinion, but likely nothing will be uncovered.

BLG is regarded as a Korean team by LCK commentators.

Before the BLG vs. G2 finals, LCK official commentators held a discussion program to predict the Pioneer Tournament冠军. One commentator's statement was quite amusing: "Today, I will treat BLG as a Korean team and cheer for BLG," because Korean player Viper is part of BLG. With their own two teams eliminated, they simply considered BLG as a Korean team. This Korean commentator is somewhat abstract.

The notion that having Koreans or Korean players in a team makes it a Korean team is laughable to anyone hearing it. Undeniably, LCK commentators possess strong self-consolation skills. Having said that, if Viper wins the冠军, he might qualify to compete with Ruler and Egg for the Asian Games AD position. Viper himself很想打 the Asian Games; will he achieve his wish this time?

T1 launches the second stage opener.

After the Pioneer Tournament concludes, the second stage is即将开赛. LCK recently announced the detailed schedule for the second stage. Matches officially begin on April 1st, with the opener being T1 versus HLE. Both teams have rested for quite some time, with no roster changes during the转会期. After the洗礼 of the first stage, it's uncertain if HLE's player coordination has improved. Personally, HLE seems unlikely to defeat T1.

The two Pioneer Tournament participating teams will make their second stage debut on the 3rd. GEN faces KT, while BFX plays BRO. The second stage in LCK features a ten-team double循环, reverting to the 18-match per team format. Due to their Pioneer Tournament折戟, LCK's second seed for the Mid-Season Tournament must also enter the play-in stage alongside the second seeds from欧美赛区. Hopefully, Faker can secure a Mid-Season Tournament spot.

Conclusion:

The质疑 regarding GEN's match-fixing is indeed reasonable. If it were our LPL赛区, a team dominant in the league, sweeping opponents 3:0 in the first two international matches, then suddenly being swept by a not-so-strong team, viewers would certainly doubt it was merely poor player form. We'll see the具体调查结果.

So, do you think GEN有可能 engaged in match-fixing?

Feel free to留言讨论!