Buzz
Once again, SofM misses out on a title in the most unexpected way.
After the showdown with JD Gaming, not only did Weibo Gaming fail to achieve their revenge goal from the LPL Spring 2022 group stage loss, they also officially bid farewell to the tournament. Despite significant investment in the late 2021 transfer window, acquiring 2 players, SwordArt and TheShy, as well as coach Easyhoon, WBG's results have been less than promising.
In this Spring split, WBG had moments that made people believe they could become the 'T1 of LPL', with an impressive unbeaten streak, dominating all opponents. WBG's victory against the reigning world champions, EDward Gaming, wasn't too difficult. They then forced Doinb's 'Chaos Lunicorn' and Victory Five of Rookie to 'expose themselves'. These were all convincing victories, especially with the shining performances of the new duo SofM - TheShy.
However, WBG's journey wasn't without its 'black spots', quite the contrary. They suffered defeats against Royal Never Give Up, JD Gaming, and Rare Atom. Their wins, albeit lacking in conviction, came against LGD Gaming and Invictus Gaming. The only difference is, these were the final matches of the group stage and before the match against JDG, TheShy explained simply that 'WBG wants to keep their cards hidden for the playoffs'.
But there's an undeniable fact that in the latter half of WBG's group stage matches, whether the team won or lost, SofM was the most criticized figure. When WBG wins but loses Dragon or Baron, people say SofM no longer has control over his jungle. And when WBG loses, there's nothing to say, it's SofM who is mentioned first. Moreover, not a few viewers even demand WBG to find a replacement for SofM or sarcastically suggest that the 'Vietnamese Jungle Deity' is playing in a 'buying mansions' style.
Acknowledged by LPL fans as one of the '5 deities' of the League of Legends realm alongside Uzi, Faker, MadLife, and his teammate TheShy, it's clear that at this moment, SofM is under more pressure than any of them, especially his fellow 'Shy brother'. SofM is seen as someone who has greatly contributed to changing the traditional jungle mindset and pathing in the LPL, but now, SofM himself is the one facing the most scrutiny, even though he and the WBG team understand each other's playstyle better than ever.
SofM faces so much criticism mainly because within the WBG lineup, he's always considered the playmaker. Remember, in the LPL team documentary, one of the reasons Bin had to leave was because he couldn't adapt his playstyle to SofM's. At the beginning of the season, SofM himself asserted that he was the shot caller in the early and mid-game. In other words, because SofM is the backbone and playmaker of WBG's playstyle by default, he bears primary responsibility for the team's results.
But those criticizing SofM perhaps forget that League of Legends is a team game, and victory or defeat is not solely decided by one individual. Each League of Legends match is full of variables, and team members must adapt to those variables. Even the 'solo carries' like T1 have had to abandon major objectives, even Dragon Souls, to secure victory.
In the 5-game series against JDG, it's most evident how SofM tried his best in every single game. Particularly in game 5, when TheShy's Aatrox was 'completely shut down' and the bot lane seemed hopeless, SofM still persevered in his plays. SofM patiently waited for a long time, even though losing to Kanavi, just to camp Yagao. Or SofM still dove in and tried to push Hope and 369 back for his teammates. However, the deity has run out of miracles. SofM is lonely and 'heartless' in a match where the opponents outplayed them and his teammates performed below par.
Perhaps SofM himself has become too accustomed to this throughout his long career journey. And as usual, after a period of rest, 'Chubby' will return and continue to give it his all, just as he always has. The only thing is, no one knows how long SofM will keep trying or how long the glory will continue to elude the 'Vietnamese Jungle Deity'.
