Invictus Gaming just lost their LPL Play-in series against ThunderTalk Gaming in a resounding 0-3.
With that, not only are they eliminated from the Split 2 playoffs, they will also be demoted to Group Nirvana for Split 3. After having just built their own stadium, this will put a serious dent in the team’s finances.
IG’s series in the LPL Split 2 play-in was catastrophic. Not only was it a 3-0 loss, they were only ever marginally ahead for a few minutes in the third game. There was nothing competitive about this series, IG simply folded and lost.
The LPL divides teams into two groups, Group Ascend and Group Nirvana. Group Ascend is the top eight of the league, in which teams play a double round robin within the group. Below them, Nirvana hosts the bottom six teams, who only play five matches each during a split.
With much fewer games and weaker opponents only, Nirvana teams end up remaining weaker. As the second-place from that group, TT had one shot to make it into the playoffs by beating IG. In the three years of using this system, this is the first-ever 3-0 by a Nirvana team.
Now demoted to Group Nirvana, IG is a shadow of their legendary 2018 roster. Image source: Riot Games
At the beginning of May, Invictus Gaming opened a home stadium in Shanghai. In a post on Weibo, the team’s investor Zhang Haohan shared that this project took six years and $20 million to complete.
In the LPL, four other teams have their own stadium, allowing for their matches to be held there while the others take place in the LPL Arena in Shanghai.
However, IG’s loss demotes them to the Group Nirvana for Split 3. In that group, they’ll only play five matches, against weaker teams with a smaller fanbase – which could be dramatic for the return on that investment.
2018 World Champion Invictus Gaming began the year by winning the Demacia Cup. Then, they started off in the LPL Split 2 as a serious threat. Now, they won’t meet the top teams until late August at least.
2026 began with Royal Never Give Up and FunPlus Phoenix both disbanding. With IG’s first ever demotion to Nirvana, it is the three most decorated Chinese teams who are simultaneously fading away.
Featured Image Source: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games
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