Image credit: LoL Esports
Bilibili Gaming is in great company at the moment.
It has been an exceptional season for Bilibili Gaming this year, possibly the organisation's best to date. After two second-place finishes behind JD Gaming in the LPL Spring Split and the Mid-Season Invitational, BLG is looking to make it to its first-ever League of Legends World Championship. BLG is also the only new addition to the final four in the LPL Summer Split playoffs as JD, Top Esports, and LNG Esports were already here last season as well.
The final four will also be in a double-elimination bracket with LNG and Top, in particular, coming through the king of the hill, single-elimination playoff bracket. Of course, some notable names are missing from the list. This includes the three-time MSI champions, Royal Never Give Up and the Worlds winner, Edward Gaming. While RNG lost in the first round of the playoffs, EDG was just one map away from making the fairytale run come true, but it would not work out for them in the end.
With Top defeating EDG and LNG getting the best of Weibo Gaming, it has set final-four four showdown. BLG will take on Top in the first best-of-five series with JD going up against LNG. This is very much like last season's match-ups with both JD and LNG facing one another again. While it was JD who came out on top last season after an incredible run, BLG might have something to say about it this time.
BLG has been one of the most consistent teams in the LPL this season with its group stage performance being a testament to it. Of the 16 games played, BLG had only ever lost once, which ironically was against JD. This would make for great commentary given the rivalry both teams have against one another this season.
JD has gatekept BLG hard this season, having gotten the better of them in two grand finals so far this season. And on both occasions, JD had come out on top with a 3-1 victory. The first came during the LPL Spring Split grand finals. BLG had initially lost to JD in the upper bracket semifinals, forcing them to play two additional best-of-fives before the rematch, which they lost.
The second time happened in the grand finals of MSI, which saw BLG lose to JD in the upper bracket semifinals yet again. While BLG e it a valiant effort by taking down the likes of G2 Esports, Gen.G Esports, and T1 in spectacular fashion, they would fall short once more in the grand finals where they met JD again and lost. As it stands, JD is 4-0 against BLG when it comes to the playoff bracket.
However, BLG's accomplishments for this season cannot be overlooked. Having reshaped its roster during the off-season and built it around Chen "bin" Ze-Bin, you can finally see the team's chemistry and cohesiveness come into play. While they have yet to win a major title with this new squad, this can already count as a successful season for the organisation, having already attended MSI for the first time and is more than likely to participate in Worlds 2023.
The LPL Summer Split playoff is happening right now with the grand finals set to take place a week from now. Be sure to catch all the action on the official LPL Twitch channel.
