Buzz
The recent string of poor results for SofM and teammates leaves fans utterly bewildered.
Weibo Gaming concludes week 8 in LPL Spring 2022 with a recent 0-2 loss to Rare Atom, failing to secure any victories. Prior to this, they faced another defeat with the same scoreline against Top Esports.
Expanding to the previous week, WBG suffered three 2-0 losses. The lone hard-fought victory by SofM and the team during this period came against LGD Gaming at the bottom of the standings.
From the position of a top-ranking team, WBG has now slid to third place and faces the risk of falling out of the top 4 if they continue to face defeats in the last two group stage matches. Despite securing a playoff spot, being outside the top 4 puts WBG at a disadvantage, requiring them to endure an additional BO5 series.
In response to this situation, industry experts are dissecting to identify the issues WBG is facing. Apart from the dip in form of stars like SofM and TheShy, the sudden change in the meta is also considered a significant factor contributing to this disappointing losing streak.
WBG's decline began when Royal Never Give Up ended their 8-game winning streak in week 7. This coincided with the introduction of patch 12.4 in LPL Spring 2022, a departure from the stable use of patches 12.1 and 12.2 for the preceding six weeks.
With a series of changes in the two major updates, WBG almost lost its strengths in the previous rounds. SofM previously mentioned the team's success stemmed from each member having a stable champion in the meta. However, when the tournament shifted patches, WBG couldn't adapt quickly enough.
Starting with the Top Lane, TheShy became less threatening when opponents banned Gwen in all matches. Additionally, champion bans in patch 12.4 hindered his effectiveness with tank champions like Sion and Malphite. Meanwhile, TheShy almost abandoned Tryndamere, a champion suitable for split-push play, favored by 15 players in LPL this season. Combined with a slight dip in form, Top God couldn't sustain high performance with Jayce, Gnar, or Graves recently.
In the Mid Lane, Angel also gradually became less impactful, adopting a farming style with Viktor, and Corki disappearing. Notably, WBG's Mid Lane struggled to effectively use Ahri, a proactive and currently popular pick in the current patch.
SofM, while not heavily affected by champion choices, is seeing opponents read his 'safe' playstyle. The early-game aggressive movements are dwindling, inadvertently putting the solo lanes at a disadvantage, leading to a loss of control over major objectives. In the competitive LPL, this playstyle is no longer as 'safe' as SofM initially shared in the early season.
These are the issues that many observers recognize; additionally, WBG must quickly address internal problems. In the short term, they need positive results in the last two group stage matches against Invictus Gaming and JD Gaming to secure a top 4 position, setting the stage for tense BO5 matchups in the upcoming playoffs. If they fall out of the top 4, WBG might face an uphill battle. Given their slow adaptation to the meta compared to other teams, few fans believe WBG can replicate the mountain-climbing feats of previous seasons.
