Ninjas in Pyjamas just beat Bilibili Gaming 2-0 in the LPL Split 2. Until this week, the LPL had a clear top two and bottom two in the group Ascend, as the other four teams fought somewhere in the middle. NIP’s convincing win over BLG changes that and threatens to push them out of the top two.
The first game was a complete back-and-forth between the two teams. Lane ganks went one way or the other without either team gaining the momentum. Then, BLG won two fights in a row. From that point on, Zhuo “Knight” Ding was extremely far ahead.
Bilibili Gaming played around their mid laner. At some point up 10/0/5, Knight lived up to his reputation as the best Aurora in the world. With him spearheading the team, BLG was now in control of the game and pushed their advantage further and further.
As they did, they conceded shutdowns here and there, though none of them turned the tides. That was until Yoon “HOYA” Yong-ho found an angle to engage for a winning fight. With the ensuing push, NIP turned the gold lead around and almost won on the spot.
BLG stopped them and reclaimed the lead and the Hextech Soul. However, NIP then won a second fight, which gave them the first game.
If the first map was close, the second one was anything but. NIP claimed the lead right away and never let go of the driver’s seat afterwards. Every play, they traded up, and every fight was their engage.
Zou “Assum” Wei is becoming one of the best bot laners in the league, and HOYA pulled no punches either.
BLG is on the verge of falling to third place in the LPL Split 2 after losing to NIP. Image source: Bruno Alvares / Riot Games
After this match, BLG now sits at 5-2 in the LPL Split 2. This puts them behind Top Esports at 5-1 and ahead of Ninjas in Pyjamas at 4-2.
Now at the end of their first round robin, they have lost to the top three and barely won against Invictus Gaming. BLG also has a game score of 10-6, against 10-2 for TES.
NIP now goes on to face Top Esports. This match will either cement them as a third place team or put a tied top three.
With this result, every single major region team that played at First Stand is now underperforming in their respective Spring Split.
| Region | Team | Current placement | Current score |
|---|---|---|---|
| LPL | Bilibili Gaming | 2nd | 5-2 |
| LPL | JD Gaming | 6th | 2-3 |
| LCK | Gen.G | 3rd (tied with 4th and 5th) | 4-3 |
| LCK | BNK FearX | 7th | 2-4 |
| LEC | G2 Esports | 5th (tied with 6th) | 3-2 |
| LCS | LYON | 3rd | 2-1 |
| LCP | Team Secret Whales | 1st | 3-0 |
| CBLOL | LOUD | 6th | 2-3 |
While half of these teams still do well, the expectations were higher. Gen.G stopped being unbeatable all of a sudden, G2 and LYON lost their playoff magic, and BLG does not play like the winner of an international. Behind them, the second seeds in BFX and JDG are nowhere to be found.
The only team that still looks as strong is the LCP’s representative, just like in 2025.
Teams always perform worse after playing at an international. This is due to both the lack of a break, and the other teams getting much more time to prepare for the upcoming split. While this phenomenon is nothing new, time is ticking to qualify for MSI.
Featured image source: Ninjas in Pyjamas
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