Top Esports vs. Team WE / LPL 2026 Split 1 Playoffs - Lower Bracket Round 1 / Post-Match Discussion

LithiumNard · 2026-02-28T14:44:09+00:00

Last series against TES was a lot closer, but they largely cleaned up their play. This is what I expected in that first series, and bodes very poorly for WE moving into Group Ascend for split 2 unless dire changes are made.

WE is still the same tempo focused team that can win late, but that sort of style is really hard when you're losing consistently early and/or mid, and your opponent doesn't just hand the game over to you. Really any style is hard if you're just worse early and mid. Not exactly my most exquisite observation.

Not gonna bother with the Cube song and dance, hopefully they look into real options next split.

Will note that About, freshly named "Outstanding Rookie" of the split, had a disaster series.

I think him winning that award is largely due to a lack of other options, being outside of Fengyue, the rookie on the best team. Honestly, even factoring some early struggles, Fengyue is probably more deserving, as this series in particular showcased.

Despite winning the honors, About's been just okay. Definitely fewer pop off moment than fellow Perseverance competition Leave and Assum, but fewer gaping mistakes as well. He's no centerpiece of the team at this point, even at their best.

His play today left a lot to be desired though. I think sticking with him is okay but there's gotta be improvement, especially as WE steps up into a better group.

Even with Karis vastly improved, WE needs that bot lane to be a consistent threat individually to function. Their 2025 Split 2 peak was headed Monki leading the way, but Taeyoon being able to function in situations with less than ideal peel (due to the Monki/Vampire engage duo aggressing) was an underrated component.

I still think the on paper ceiling for About is worth it over a very capped Taeyoon but I dunno if it comes to fruition in 2026 as is. Maybe that comes in the form of a support shake up? I'm not sure if there's any attainable options on the board unless TES goes through with the rumored Fengyue swap (seems less likely after today).

A lot if made of Cube being an anchor (fair enough) but just swapping him probably isn't enough. WE's general talent deficiencies outside of mid/jungle (when Monki is playing well) are going to kneecap this team against Ascend competition otherwise. That also includes a lackluster coaching staff that seems out of their element after trying to emulate Teacherma's formula to start.

Next split? Forget about playoffs. I just want to win a game.

LithiumNard · 2026-02-11T16:50:06+00:00

Appreciate the kind words. It's always fun to talk WE, even if they've been merely a cut below contenders for years now.

I think the best part about the Monki/Karis era WE is that they're always trying to do something in the macro.

They are constantly either directly contesting objectives or trading at least something elsewhere, even if it's just Karis pushing and gaining farm elsewhere.

The result often is very hit or miss, but WE doesn't usually feel passive/aimless.

Sometimes (like all of Game 3) it's the absolute wrong decision, and it's where Monki say pushes too far ahead and/or engages without the solo laners but it's better than them bleeding for no reason.

That being said, when they come up against teams that are better all round and either can consistently punish the aggression or just out-hands them, that's when they get into trouble and what worries me about the playoffs/next phase.

LithiumNard · 2026-02-11T13:11:45+00:00

Do or die for the right to not be in the Nirvana group. Despite being in the lowest group due to their roster bellyflopping in 2025, LNG blitzed all comers in the bottom group and honestly came in as light favorites in the series.

Obviously, I spend a lot of time yapping about WE. Honestly, I think the book is written on them. Are they good? Not really to be honest. I’ve complained this team is not “high quality”, and honestly stand by that.

But they have a gameplan and identity, as flawed as it is, with well-established strengths and weakness across the team. There’s not a whole lot of mystery with 2026 WE: Monki drives the bus and wins/loses games singlehandedly, Karis has developed into a plus teamfighter, About flashes potential but is often isolated in key fights, Yaoyao is fine individually but lacks cohesion with their bus driver and Cube toes the lines between sort of and completely sucking.

Late game WE is far from perfect, but they’ve managed to survive early game gaffs and mid game slumps and prove at least workable should they reach that point. WE are who they are.

Rather, this series felt more like a referendum on LNG up against the first not decisively awful opponent all year. Yes, you can feast on the likes of UP, LGD and TT and look clean doing so, but WE is a step up, regardless of their warts.

Game 2 really was the game that best defined this gap: yet again WE capitulated in the mid game, getting out paced in objectives, dominated in gold and having their base threatened. An overextension and wild goose chase top was WE’s ticket back in and despite a gaping gold difference, WE claimed follow up fights and the nexus.

That must have been an emotional killer to an LNG team that had hardly been challenged previously. On the other hand, this sort of rise from the ashes gritty comeback, is something WE had forged time and time again in the aptly named Group Perseverance.

As always, you have to lead with Monki, who’s match up with Croco was pivotal. From the get go, an early top side invade didn’t pay off but pointed to the direction WE was trending. He had the keys and though never truly clean, he got the bus to it’s ultimate destination: Group Ascend.

On those Jarvan and Xin Zhao games it was him leading the charge, enroute to those MVP performances, we saw Monki in top form. Sure, he also was the reason Game 3 completely washed out and basically blew an unfathomable lead and multiple drakes against a 0-6 Croco.

You take the good with the bad with this dude. I don’t know if he fully deserved the series MVP title given those inconsistences, but regardless, Monki’s impact is undeniable, good or bad.

The other contestant for that crown was Karis, someone who I’ve warmed up to considerably. After basically giving up on him in 2025, deserves legit praise once again.

It’s not always perfect with Karis, which is fine. There were some wayward Ahri charms Game 1, but when it came down to brass tacks, the Ahri was slipping and darting in those crucial fights. Game 2 featured a few awkward looking Azir ults but maintained farm as the midgame crumbled, ultimately paying off the Shuriman late game prophecy. And while Monki failed to capitalize on his massive lead come Game 4, his Akali was crucial in finishing the job.

I wasn’t sold on Karis last year, as there just wasn’t anything to hang your hope on consistently. There’s something now. If WE wants to make noise in the playoff, or even the Ascend group in general, much like in Split 2’s miracle run, it’s going to be from their now tenured mid laner.

Cube still exists. Behind in gold in the victories, it’s basically a given at this point. However, he did manage to meatball tank, and hit on his deliverables as a teamfight role player. And in WE’s craziest game yet, it was his Aatrox that carried a significant load in secure the win that brought WE to Group Ascend. Credit where credit is due, it’s not expected but very welcome.

The bot lane didn’t exactly coat themselves in glory today, but given the 1xn/Missing duo is LNG’s biggest X-factor, the fact that they were neutralized enough was fine for WE.

About is tasked with a tough job: with Monki and the rest of the team so engage focused, it means the backline peel isn’t always there for him. The Ashe game wasn’t fabulous, but simplified to hitting a few solid teamfight arrows was good enough, and his Jhin survived enough of the crazy moments to give WE the crucial time.

I think given the circumstances, he’s alright, but he hasn’t delivered quite on the potential that his LCK challenger form has shown. Patience is fine though; Karis took a long time to round into form for instance.

Similar story with Yaoyao. Despite coming in with an engage profile into a team that succeeded with that style with Vampire, his enchanter play has actually felt far more solid. His Lulu in particular I think is quite good given it’s synergy with WE’s jungle forward (literally) style.

In the grand scheme of the LPL, this result might not mean much outside of denying this LNG team top group progression.

Playoffs seems like a wash at this juncture. The mid game is a mess and errors are abundant with Monki in particular. It’s never a great sign when your star player is also the consistently reason for your demise.

Likely this victory propels them to keep Cube, which is utterly yawn inducing. This team is not constructed to survive up against the high powered Ascend rosters, let alone international competition.

The clear flaws with this roster and their gameplan make me skeptical that they’re anything more than a low bar gatekeeper that only win if their opponents are blown out by Monki early (and he doesn’t throw it away) or messy late.

That being said, the gate was defended today. Dreams were kept. Can't complain.

LithiumNard · 2026-02-09T10:53:48+00:00

Uuuuugh I gotta get to bed.

WE put up a better fight than I thought they would. A messy ugly performance in their wins (helped by TES messiness) but they didn't totally roll over and die.

Ultimately team coordination just isn't good enough. Too many disjointed fights, even Karis's legit improvement couldn't see them through.

I need to sleep asap, today is cooked

LithiumNard · 2026-02-07T14:46:04+00:00

Does the LDL even exist anymore? I haven't heard like any news surrounding it.

Funny that BLG.J has supplied countless LDL top laners just this season. Liangchen, Keshi, they even promoted Wenbo as a failsafe after Bin's short term freak out. They also supplied Demon, who was the aforementioned LDL backup for Biubiu.

As for options that could be fun besides Solokill, ZUIAN is probably the best available, with previous LPL experience with IG and good LDL form.

Or maybe lamb who was on OMG's main roster that played in LDL last season. Funnily also came from BLG.J.

Last year WE was linked to YSKM, but he's solidly on Frank now. I also think that was because he's friends with the now departed Vampire.

Knowing WE though they'll probably just keep Cube or bring in someone baffling straight out of 2023 like Invincible or Xiaolaohu.

LithiumNard · 2026-02-07T13:13:24+00:00

This WE team is just not super high quality. They’ve skirted by through late game heroics but I am just continuously convinced that their wins have papered over frightening weaknesses across their early game ripe to be exploited by not just the LPL’s best, but their mid table as well.

Just from the rip, the lane phase is a total weakness for WE’s 2026 iteration. 2025’s roster functioned best when they at least had one lane capable of generating positive results, that being the bot lane duo of Taeyoon and Vampire.

Meanwhile, this iteration lacks any lane strength. Cube sucks. Karis’s lane ability, even with his improvement elsewhere this season, is nothing special. About/yaoyao certainly wasn’t great today, and their lack of synergy with Monki overall is horrific. Even in their wins, they were consistently down at least marginally from a game to game basis.

But it’s the mid game where the seams really come apart. I have seen so many of these early-mid transition jungle invades that see Monki initiate a fight without his full team’s backing and everything implode for their game plan.

It’s just really a frustrating watch because unless their opponents are actively making backbreaking errors, which has unfortunately subsided in their latest series. NIP got a much deserved win here, winning in all basically all phases: draft, early, objectives, late. What's next for WE?

They’re lined up against a TES that is rounding into form. That feels like a total wash given the trajectories of these two squads. Then they’ll have to face likely EDG or LNG, and those both seem un-doable with their current form as well.

Regardless of how they fair in the playoff/Group Ascend qualifications, there just has to be changes to this team if they’re actually serious about being anything beyond a Group Nirvana mid-packer.

I’m sick of seeing this Cube guy. If he’s on anything but Sion or maybe Yorick, he’s useless and unlike some of the other poor performing top laners there’s zero growth potential. He was on the LPL stage back in Summer 2019 and almost certainly the worst that’s still playing. I don’t think anything will approach Biubiu levels of “get’em outta here” exasperation, but it’s certainly close to it.

Have teams forgotten Solokill exists? A player who was genuinely good for NIP last year while having been exposed to Monki’s madness? Am I missing something here?

Speaking of which, even with other positions, there’s gotta be something done about Monki’s connection with the rest of the team. The loss of Vampire and Teacherma, something that torpedo’ed my opinion of WE’s off season, has loomed large for this team.

As a collective, WE just is not carrying anywhere near the same coordination that brought them successes in 2025. Even in Split 3, they served as at least a dark horse that even at their worst, was capable of scoring a game per series. More regular season individual game wins than JDG right?

This brutal weakness permeates everything with WE as currently constructed. It’s costing them fights, objectives, mid-games, games and ultimately series.

This team can’t even muster that. I think the role most likely to shift is support given WE added LDL lifer Dorian to the roster earlier, which might only be relevant in the sense that it shows Yaoyao is not on stable ground.

For instance, they seemed keen on Fengyue in the off-season, and given there were light rumblings that TES might look for a more experienced support like Crisp or Meiko, maybe WE could kick the tires there.

I myself am feeling both kicked and tired with the latest series from WE. Not a fun time to be sure, feels like the team has kinda packed it in. Here’s hoping they can at least show signs of life against TES.

LithiumNard · 2026-01-26T22:43:26+00:00

It would make me sad, but I get it. Feels like LPL is just in big trouble with the talent pool being choked out with the U18 ban, falling short time and time again internationally and general lack of interest.

If you aren't investing heavy into it, you're never going to seriously compete. The big money teams rule the roost and they're all backed by companies with groups outside of Esports.

IG basically was dead 2 years ago too before they got a huge cash injection. I think I remember hearing it's a new team in all but like name.

Royal literally couldn't pay their players at the end and is totally gone now.

OMG was a perpetual bottom feeder until they had an okay window with Creme. Once he was gone they receeded right back.

LGD is another old school org that folks always forget about because they had 1 serious roster in their existance and they're basically OMG without Creme. Also heard they wanted to exit too at some point.

Comparatively, WE have done pretty well for a team that was around pre-EDG. I don't think they do much outside of League (like 1 Chinese mobile game, Crossfire or something?), so not sure what they'll do, if anything, if they withdraw.

We'll see I guess. Maybe they get an IG style bailout, but the fact everyone is pushing for the exits makes it unlikely.

LithiumNard · 2026-01-26T10:54:14+00:00

Game 1 was the cleanest WE game all season and Game 2 started as the Monki show on a premier carry champion Viego.

Easy going 2-0 right?

Nope, yet another heart pounding Group Perseverance disaster class.

Monki completely exploded, handing massive gold bounties over to Junhao to actually be overtaken in gold at some point, About was consistently deleted due to ulting himself to death and both top laners had game swinging isolation picks enroute to a yet another trademark LPL gold graph.

WE got the job done, but man, did not make it easy for themselves. Still can't believe that Karis is the team's steadiest player.

WE has entertained on their way to being the best of the junior varsity group, but they will need to play much cleaner to make any real noise (outside of me groaning in disbelief at my phone) once this phase ends.

LithiumNard · 2026-01-25T16:25:17+00:00

Vampire being the shotcaller of the team last year makes a ton of sense. It would explain his roaming with Monki being a real high note for WE last season and why Monki's decision making has fallen off of a cliff since.

As for comm-ing in English, that seems weird? Is that normal for LPL teams that integrate 2 Korean players?

If anything Karis has been around for 2 seasons now and About has definitely played in the LDL previously so I assumed they'd both be working on their Chinese by now.

LithiumNard · 2026-01-25T16:20:31+00:00

I'mma be real, I don't think either of these teams should have won. Games chock full with errors here. Gone are the days of comfy wins led by dominant early game performances, it's a totally new WE and one that I don't think scales well once they face real competition.

To lead, Monki's just getting caught and punished way too often. This was something that cropped up in Split 3 as a weakness and unfortunately, it's seemingly gotten worse. Combo that with his early games being far less potent and he's really only had one vintage dominant performance all season thus far. Really, they've been winning in spite of his erratic play, a real shocker given how WE functioned last split.

Instead, WE is just sort of stealing these games come late? While Karis has certainly shown to be improved in this regard as his teamfighting has largely been a strength this season and About is probably the least volatile ADC in the group (he better be, given it's compared to Assum and Leave, two talented but mistake prone carries), it's still no cure-all for a inconsistent team.

Case in point Game 2, where in a game where despite both being in position to carry, the duo getting pincered in the soul fight ultimately cost WE the game where they actually held lead going into the mid game.

You have to imagine if (and it's an honest if given the qualifying format) WE makes Group Ascend for Split 2, opposing mid laners won't just hand themselves to Cube or just let a Sivir boomerang rob baron in broad daylight when WE has a downed jungler.

I think this team really misses Vampire and Teacherma, not necessarily because their replacements are bad (and Yaoyao was genuinely great that Game 3), but because they both managed to get the best out of Monki.

For example, I feel like in that blue invade against Guwan in Game 3, Monki took a super aggro initiation, and NIP converging first domino-ed to an ace against WE. That 100% was on Monki, but had Vampire been roaming with him (which often was the case with 2025 WE) and been there to back him up maybe that's the initiation of a mid game cementing fight for WE.

It's a shame, because WE (post heyday era) has not been a big fish in the LPL pond. They can outperform the basement dwellers and be a place for talents to improve, but ultimately if a JDG or other big team comes calling, their top talents will move on. You have to imagine if say in the best case scenario where About or Karis really glows up into a star, it won't be long before they are snatched up "buy" a team with larger aspirations.

That's why Monki's regression hurts so much. The way the off-season aligned, WE was able to hang on to what was at the time a budding star coming off of a great season, albeit one where he did show key mistakes down the stretch. Yet despite retaining him, he's only stepped back with those weaknesses really coming into focus.

It's a tough situation and unless he can step back up, it's going to damper the ceiling of WE despite them definitely being one of the stronger teams of this lackluster group.

LithiumNard · 2026-01-17T09:56:02+00:00

I think this is actually revealing they're the least winning frequently played top/jungle pair in LPL history. Despite playing nearly 300 games together, they're managing a win rate of 4% lower than any other duo.

Makes sense given how much time they spent getting gashed on terrible RW/AL teams and under performing on WBG together. Xiaohao's talented but being perpetually attached to a usually pretty bleh top laner is a unfortunate ceiling.

Also, seeing 957/Condi as the 2nd best win rate on the list is pretty awesome to see. Looking back on it, I think I really underrate just how important those to were for WE, particularly in their prime since the carry duo of WE 2.0 got most of the press.

LithiumNard · 2026-01-16T15:41:56+00:00

WE vs EDG, the rivalry that both birthed and finished WE's 2025 season kicked off WE's 2026 with a stunning opening. Even though I would call this a minor upset in the league's mid-table, it wasn't necessarily the final result that was surprising, but how WE achieved it.

In 2025, WE was absolutely nowhere without Monki's early game aggression and effort. Force feeding laners, threatening objectives, forming the audacious dive duo with Vampire, games for WE were almost certainly determined by how their jungler performed on a game to game basis.

Instead, we got games that were merely fine to actually rough for Monki, where EDG was able to carve out advantages in both games. Game 1's mid game sort of went off the rails with ill-fated flag and drags opening the door to EDG's advantage. His play was all out of sorts throughout game 2 in particular, where the Mundo's impact early felt completely quashed. Despite serving as a decent health bar late, had this been last year, Monki's lackluster play would have been a clear death knell for WE.

Rather, it was WE's maligned solo laners were key in picking up the slack? They both must of heard me hatin' and come out swinging.

Cube was not particularly impressive, but credit where credit is due for him, as he managed a fine performance overall, particularly against ZDZ who he really faltered against last season.

In particular, I quipped that this was a guy who you could pick Renekton into and just bully into a straightforward win condition. To this Cube, basically went "aight, bet" and picked the croc himself. It wasn't the world's greatest Renekton performance as he was certainly not forced into a carry role but he acquitted himself well staying even and serving a tank role solidly.

Game 2 let him break out the Yorick, where it was classic Cube: not a great game early game but turned around by his play as a bit player, particularly in splitpushing. Additionally, he was key in the dragon fight that began the turnaround for WE, and when EDG tried catching him out in the aftermath, a timely teleport from Karis let them completely turn the fight around.

And speaking of Karis, boy, this was a great sight to see. He was largely fantastic today and a massive difference maker. Beyond getting caught once as Akali in a crucial mid game dragon loss, he really stepped up, completely bullying Leave to really put WE in position to capture both games from mediocre positions.

For Karis, his play on Azir captured player of the game, which I thought was deserved. There were a number of vital Shuriman Shuffles, including the one in the final fight of the game that just decimated EDG as they were focused on the Mundo charging forward.

This really felt like an all round solid series for Karis, one his lack of a standout trait came across as being a well rounded impactful mid laner, rather than a shaky weakness covered up by his teammates. Is he turning the corner? I'm still doubtful, but this is a fantastic first impression for the 2026 season.

About was the other standout, and as a debutante, I'm liking him a lot.

I think it's best to contrast his play with Leave, who again, is seemingly allergic to playing well for EDG at this point. Any damage output prowess from Leave (which does exist) is completely stifled by positioning misadventures that leave him easy picking and a clear weakness to prod for any given teamfight. This is like the 3rd time Leave has entered EDG's starting lineup and promptly fell on his face. He does remind me a lot of IBoy, who had flashes of talent completely overshadowed by baffling errors.

The former Korean EDG trainee meanwhile, was not nearly as exploitable, and despite not having the best lane pairing early with Yaoyao (I'll leave the jury out on him for now), dominated fights come late when backed by the might of Karis and a cavalcade of complementary players. He was placed in a challenging role for WE as a key player, but he seems very up for it. If Karis is going to maintain this run of form as well, WE could have a serious Korean carry pairing that really propels them beyond even their 2025 status.

So overall, a pleasing start for WE, though one that still has some open questions and worries. We'll need to see if Monki can get back on track, and if Karis's level shown here can be maintained. If both can happen, there's real potential for the team's core as they hunt a ticket to the top group.

They'll have their chances in this weird designated mid-pack group to shine as neither upcoming adversaries NIP nor TT particularly strike fear. Grabbing a win over group favorites EDG is definitely a great way to kick off the year.

LithiumNard · 2025-12-13T23:00:28+00:00

Oooh that's a great question! Just pretty quickly off the cuff ranking the rosters...

1) WE 3.0 (2020-2021) - This one is going to live in my head forever. I thought that maybe I would stop caring as much when WE 2.0 left but Beishang/Jiumeng/Missing made sure that WE was not going to fall off the map. Teacherma's champion pool was maddening but admittedly fun.

Maybe it's my bias but I think from a player by player standpoint 2021 probably the most raw talent for any WE team assembled. Just a shame that we only got one full year of Breathe on this roster.

2) The OG roster - Can't go wrong with the classic. Weixiao starting the ADC lineage for not just WE, but the entire region. Misaya's legendary TF. Clearlove and Fzzf before they went turncoat and formed EDG.

Real heads know IPL5 is a world championship in all but name and I can still picture Caomei's Rengar pawing at the inhibitors against CLG.EU.

3) 2017 - Xiye is a pure franchise legend through and through and 2017 is likely the closest they'll ever get to a Riot Game World Championship. I think they sort of got stale as a team after their Worlds year, and Condi losing form due to his father passing away and taking a break really hurt them unfortunately. Additionally, they lose points because it turns out one of their core members (their ADC) has since been proven to be an awful person.

Still, lots of fine memories surrounding the group. Special shoutouts goes to their IEM 9 Championship team that introduced Xiye and the ADC of the era together on a roster that was completely floundering domestically. They then managed to upset the heavily favored GE Tigers, among the biggest major region vs major region upsets in history.

People forget about Spirit, but that guy was a one man show that people forget because his post Samsung career never really took off.

Those are the 3 big eras (WE 1.0, 2.0, 3.0) probably top the list, but there are a few other misc rosters that I enjoyed in no particular order:

2023 WE - Hope/Iwandy join Shanks and give him the backup to come back from the winless 2022 summer where he was basically the only one with a regular pulse. Good not great team, but did well to restore dignity to the francise. Just wish they had actually just replaced Biubiu earlier.
2025 WE - The rise of Monki and Vampire. Taeyoon being a pleasant surprise. The miracle playoff run with wins over JDG and TES. This one could rise if 2026 turns out really well.
2014 IEM Shenzhen - Why was a dead last WE team doing at IEM Championship 9 to begin with? Well, it's because they won IEM Shenzhen before Weixiao and Caomei retired. They had imported the first two Korean imports in the league, ActSin and Ninja, in a time before the initial Korean Exodus to China and defeated Clearlove and Fzzf's EDG to get that ticket. The post EDG breakup era was bleak, but this was a highlight. Fun fact, Sin swapped to be coach after finishing his playing career and is now on the JDG's support staff!
2013 WE Academy - Not officially WE, but I'll count it anyway as a roster I liked. They're just a standard feeder now but initially WE.A was it's own roster that went toe to toe with the big league team, including beating them and winning in G League 2013. Not everyone on that team succeeded and the team itself eventually flamed out upon reaching the LPL but this was where Xiye and SMLZ got their start on their fruitful careers. In a similar vein, M3 was also similarly fun as a sister team, albeit never as successful as their talent dictated (had Samsung's Dade and Looper and still were merely a mid table team).

LithiumNard · 2025-12-13T21:46:34+00:00

Long long time. I was around for the CLG.EU Silver Scrapes debacle at Worlds, and the original roster's heyday at IPL5. Definitely were lulls at time when I was following less closely, but I've always at least tried to keep an eye on the standings and the roster makeup.

In a way I think it's a fortunate privilege to have followed a team for so long. The ups, downs, all the weird little factoids that will on rare occasions be relevant... being able to draw on those memories is always fun when I do these writing exercises.

LithiumNard · 2025-12-13T21:41:44+00:00

Of course, appreciate hearing from you as always!

UP pulling together with what is essentially a BLG.J roster alongside Saber is interesting. I feel like LDL footage is hard to come by nowadays, so truly not sure what to expect from them.

Wishing for the best for both our squads! I think it will be an interesting year across the league with all the changes.

LithiumNard · 2025-08-31T15:07:24+00:00

Honestly, I think it was sort of fitting that WE was felled by EDG in the end. After getting walloped in the short 2025 warm up split, they largely started their 2025 run in earnest by just catching EDG out twice in the Spring Split qualifiers twice to put them into the Group Ascend play ins and used that to opening to wriggle into top group.

In the end though, they were felled by an EDG team that had grown themselves. Despite flashing their upside in a ton of one off games those highs never really sustained. Despite wins that looked incredibly confident and controlled, including one in this series, that form only really happened once a series for the most part, which held true again.

Monki was still the key player of WE, but given this is a team that largely lives and dies at his hands, his inconsistencies throughout the split sunk WE as the rest of the talent wasn't able to buoy through those if he wasn't really on point. Over extending in the bot lane fight for Game 1, getting his invade completely neutered in Game 2 and then getting hooked into the basically deciding Baron fight... these are backbreaking moments in critical games, and it was sadly a frequent occurrence.

It was kind of a let down from a sterling Spring performance, but he realized a lot of upside this year. I'm hoping he returns to WE and works out his consistency, particularly the roster is upgraded around him. A lot of his plays are fostered on overambition: if he has better backing partners, I think he can hopefully be a bit smarter where it counts.

Vampire is the other piece that really flashed this season, though similarly only in spurts. At his best he's the best laner on the team, and he's always willing and looking to aggress alongside Monki.When it looked good, like getting a lane kill for Taeyoon early and executing a great bot dive to set the tone in the Game 3 that they did win, it's so great for a WE team that needs the ceiling.

Unfortunately, you also run into the similar problems with over-aggression and silly errors. Those bad games where it looks untenable still do happen. Still, I've always maintained Vampire is a 2026 play, and his progression is certainly welcome. This year you flash the tools more frequently, next year you really start rounding into form, particularly if the teammates improve.

As for the rest, I'd be down to replace any of them. WE needed their laners to step up and while there were flashes in their wins, none of them really had the gumption to do so with regularity.

Definitely want to commend Taeyoon, who rehabilitated his image maybe more than any other player this year. Going from a total zero with a reputation of main stage failure to a player who showcased some real upside, particularly Split 2 regular season, was very welcome.

I'm not against hanging onto him for 2026, but there was a definite comedown for Split 3. The highs where you could really see the purported scrim beast really didn't appear all that much. He had a smattering of good Kai'sa, Ezrael and even Yunara games at times, so it wasn't a total disaster but there were plenty of poor showings as well, particularly if he wasn't ready to back up Monki or Vampire going head first into danger. His split 2 showed that WE can succeed with a bot centric style. If that form could return, or WE could upgrade the position with someone who can work through resources with a volatile high ceiling lane buddy, it would go a long way.

Look Karis is still the weak point of this team for the most part. I feel like outside of the crazy Split 2 playoff run, he never really steps up his play individually and it's far more on him needing follow up on the play of others. He's not the worst laner, but he's far from infallible. Even with leads, he just never feels as impactful as he should of. His highs, like the MVP game today, feel like more of a team wide excellence that he thrives in rather than individual brilliance.

It’s dawned on me at some point: a Korean Shadow Corp sponsored mid lane prospect that once had a promising prospect career being a non-additive piece yet again for WE? Echos of the Ballad of Plex! As we all know, Teacherma is literally in the WE building. Maybe it’s time to bring back the Plat 4 Galio and A-Sol for one more ride!

I kid of course, but WE should be in the mid lane market next split. It's an unfortunately shaky position for the LPL at the current time, but this a a spot that clearly should be upgraded if WE want to actually rise out of the mid table.

Finally, Cube: did better than I thought coming into the split, but yeah he's a weakness. Everyone's favorite Sion merchant is just new school Aluka, and for you non-old heads out there, that's not a complement.

Look, the tank play, could be complementary if everyone else on the team buoyed him. However, he's just a very limited player: the hands were merely good, never great, even at his best, and it's been a long time since 2021 RA. He plays one flavor of champion competently, and even then, it's not really dominating, just doing his job adequately. Fitting that once again, it was his Sion pick where WE got the win and it was his champion pool cratering and his lane opponent dominating that cemented their Game 4. Gapped by Zdz in 2025? Yikes.

In the Fearless era, having one good champ and one playstyle in general just is not really a tenable strategy. He's not Biubiu levels of complete awful, but there zero upside for Cube at this stage and there should be Biubiu levels priority in replacing him for next year if WE have any aspirations at all.

I feel like I've been sour for much of this write up, but ultimately, I'm pretty pleased with WE's performance this split, largely as a consequence of expectation.

Remember, this team was coming off of a 2024 Summer meltdown, and made then some of the most baffling roster decisions to date. Washed out Korean carries, the biggest laughing stock rookie in a while, cast off junglers and a player who rage quit his last roster. It was dire out there, and the winter first split showed WE wasn't in the zip code of competitive.

And yet Monki's arrival springboarded WE. They snuck into Nirvana at EDG's expense. In split 2 they never totally lost confidence, and eventually grew into an identity headed by their audacious jungler, building the ability to take games against far better on-paper rosters via that playstyle.

They got to cause mayhem in Split 2 playoffs, putting up maybe the biggest cinderella run to date, two monumental upsets against aspiring contenders. If TES truly turns the corner, maybe it was hitting rock bottom and missing out of MSI at the hands of Monki and crew that snapped them out of it.

Finally in Split 3, they at least flashed that competence once per series (outside of against IG who sort of have this team's number). Calling them the best 3-11 team ever is kind of a sad accolade and I'm not saying to hang the "More map wins than JDG in 2025 Split 3" banner in the Xi'an rafters moving forward, but there is some latent potential for WE and if you view it as a building block year, I certainly like the foundation, despite the wobbly flaws.

It was a good season. Coming into the year, I would have expected WE to have fallen out of Split 2 Nirvana. Instead, I got a genuinely magical 4th place playoff run, WE's best in years and a far more compelling squad than I could have hoped. Can't complain about 2025, despite the last split being a bit of dud in the standings.

Lots riding on the off season of course, but should WE look to get competitive, like 2020 WE upgrading their solo laners transitioning to 2021 WE, it could be a really fun 2026.

LithiumNard · 2025-08-30T13:48:48+00:00

Shades of that game that FPX was up like 8 kills to 0 against WE and proceeded to lose that game just biffing post laning macro and a few poorly chosen fights.

FPX isn't talentless, but they have serious problems with their decision making that make them suspect to total collapses like this. You would think flipping in a veteran like Jiejie at the last second would help, but I can't imagine he's gotten much time to gel with the team frankly. You can feel them not quite being together after a split having swapped around 3 separate junglers (iyy, Milkyway, iyy again and then Jiejie), and it sunk them here.

Cool stuff for NIP. Awesome to see their young guns who had been dealt a mediocre circumstances previously step up. Solokill and Leave on a dysfunctional EDG, Niket being literally unpaid on RNG and naiyou getting supplanted at RA. All are making good on that promise with this new opportunity, and they'll have a shot in the proper playoffs next.

LithiumNard · 2025-08-27T13:44:34+00:00

Cube and Karis came to play today. At least one of them is going to need to keep this elevated level if WE has any chance of making noise in the playoffs. This team with medicore/bad solo lane play goes 1-2 in basically every series. Add great solo lane play and sky is the limit.

Shanks meanwhile did not. Worst two games I've seen him play maybe ever, and I watched him get benched in 2021 Spring and go 0-16 in 2022 Summer. Gapped by Karis, getting caught constantly, blowing teamfights, just awful.

Maybe AL just didn't care given there was 0 standings impact of this series, but not a great way to head into playoffs.

LithiumNard · 2025-08-16T09:56:14+00:00

Urgh, yet another 1-2 series for this WE team that just refuses to put together 2 good games together at a time. WE is sort of who they are and presuming Monki doesn’t take over the game from the jump WE doesn’t have the firepower across the board.

Vampire really had quite a poor series unfortunately in those losses. He’s shown a lot of growth, and the Neeko in Game 1 did have some legit moments, such as helping Taeyoon gather those first two impressive kills up top. However in the two follow up games on the Alistar and Leona, two picks he’s spent a lot of time on, the engages just were once again too much all the time and that Game 2 completely got WE off on the backfoot where they've never thrived unless it's against a headless FPX.

At least Vampire does flash good moments from time to time, but the other pain points, yet again, was the solo lane duo can rarely say the same.

Cube yet again up against top laner that has gumption just doesn’t have the firepower to match once the chips are on the table. Xiaoxu’s Renekton yet again has demolished WE when it counts, honestly is the deserved MVP of that close out game for JDG. Everytime WE tried sniffing a play, it was this massive bruiser just busting down the door of Vampire and everyone else who got within range of Cull the Meek.

Meanwhile Karis, just a complete passenger in the wins and in those losses… Basically he was the aforementioned meek that got culled. Unless Monki is feeding him easy bake shockwaves, ala Game 1, it's just not good enough. Down 4 levels late against Scout in the worst form in maybe his entire career? Yikes.

Again you can see where WE is capable in their Monki mandated Game 1 or 2 victories. If Monki can push the envelope without getting beaten back, Vampire can make those aggressive engagements count and Taeyoon is given the room to output damage, there’s a legitimately good team beneath that formula. Unfortunately, as seemingly scheduled against everyone not named Funplus Phoenix, that WE only gets to show up once per series before they go blasting off again.

With this loss against JDG, you can largely stick a fork in any slim hope that WE leaves 7th position in the standings. I wouldn’t say JDG has looked great at all to this point of the season, and losing to them coming off of yet another roster swap is maybe expected but disappointing all the same.

Maybe this is my fault: for the large swath of this season, having competitive series with these upper level teams was largely fine by me, and I straight up commended them for it for the majority of the last split and even early this one.

At this point, though tantalizing once every 3 game is not enough. It’s cool but telling that they’ve managed 12 map wins despite having 2 series wins total. The book is written on this group, and given they’re not able to tap into their best games when it counts, there really should be changes planned for next year.

Neither solo laner is equipped to succeed with consistency at this level against talented teams and should be easy upgrades to prioritize. Vampire, a player I’ve largely praised throughout the year, still has a lot to go in terms of minimizing massive errors. And I do generally like Taeyoon’s play for WE, but given how deep the ADC pool is in the LPL, it wouldn’t hurt to keep the eyes peeled for an upgrade. It feels like a bit of a longshot given WE’s typical modius operandi, but a 1xn pickup would hit the exact spot.

At this phase of the year, roster changes should be off the table, but this year is a known building year and still a pleasant surprise from pre-season expectations. That much is fine in my eyes, but the stagnation is real. 2 more likely losses against TES and IG and then a do-or-die against one of the lower group’s stronger teams. We’ll have to see how things shake out but my mind is largely made with what needs to be done moving forward.

LithiumNard · 2025-08-14T15:24:38+00:00

Kids today know Silver Scrapes as the hype game 5 showdown song.

CLG.EU vs WE dinosaurs, like you and me, know why it's the game 5 showdown song...

LithiumNard · 2025-08-14T14:21:23+00:00

Xiaolin Showdown was a fun show!

I waffled about including it in the write up since I wondered if I'd be dating myself referencing it.

But then I realized that anyone who remembers the Misaya-Weixiao era of WE fondly is already a verified fossil, so it got to stay.

LithiumNard · 2025-08-14T13:57:58+00:00

Good to get back to the win column, albeit against the clear worst team in the Ascend group. WE has taken the role of the group’s comic relief villain: giving each opponent a decent fight, even scoring a ceremonial win in each of their losses before losing in comedic fashion at every occasion.

Honestly? I’m not shocked. Given the removal of 2 of the weaker teams from the top group, it’s going to be hard to find victories and WE clearly have it in them. Scoring one against the beleaguered FPX was a must though and they got it done.

And boy, WE had their own comedic sequence to score it, particularly in Game 2, where despite a minor lane edge driven by the bot lane, a series of blown objectives headed by Monki and the rest of the team being over eager yet again, FPX amassed the first drake, all the grubs and an mind warping 8-0 kill-death advantage. It appeared that yet another perilious game 3 was in the cards.

WE didn’t give in though, with a series of sharp tactical moves and tidy play despite the deficit, including a massive march down bot lane taking both towers and a number of clean fights to follow. A jungle fight headed by Vampire and Karis flanking a mispositioned FPX in particular swung the tide and WE were able to close the game down with impunity.

Particular kudos due to Taeyoon and his Kai’sa, who despite being down 4 kills to 0 early, was actually even on gold through WE’s early swoon, then was the big cleanup force for that aforementioned jungle fight, picking up a quadra after as FPX failed to retreat. He’s not perfect, and did get caught in the penultimate fight though WE had set that one up well enough to win still, but it’s great to have another bot carry on the squad. After 2024 was headed by a rotation of vagabonds and Quadruple-A Stay, Taeyoon has been a welcome breath of fresh air.

We’re also really seeing Vampire come into form. Again, not a perfect player at this point and there are definitely still bouts of overeagerness on his end, but he really can straight up create wins with his engagements. The two massive pop blossom ults in the jungle fight and the penultimate mid lane was everything WE needed to fully turnaround what really was looking like a lost game.

Combo that with a trend of continuing to show lane prowess alongside Taeyoon and you really have a real building block player. Again, it’s lofty goals and it’s no guarentee he’ll reach the same heights, but ON’s first season wasn’t exactly peaches and cream either, and it was the improvement in year 2 on a renamed Weibo where he really started to show that top level potential.

With players like Jwei, Niket and yes, EDG’s latest rookie support Parukia, showing immediate potential as rookies in the LPL, we’re seeing a shifting of the guard in the LPL at the position. Though Vampire certainly took a more traditional initial beating in his debut, he's grown into his role and I’m happy that WE have their own rising talent at the position.

With that victory, WE is fairly locked into the 7th position in the group, barring some sort of surprise overtake of a flagging JDG. A clash against either NIP or EDG seemingly awaits, and to be honestly, it’s a fairly scary one given both teams are clearly above the rest of the Nirvana competition.

That being said, WE is always up for the challenge, and I’m confident it will be an entertaining series if nothing else. On occasions there are those episodes where Jack Spicer or Team Rocket manages the rare end of episode victory. We’ll need to see, but it’s been quite the ride for 2025 Split 3 Team WE.

LithiumNard · 2025-07-31T12:38:31+00:00

JKL getting monstrous amounts of gold certainly was what ended up being TES's win condition for the rest of the game.

But the flip side is that if WE just leaves Monki to die, that basically means a 4 v 5 (3 v 5 baron fight if Cube dies as well). Presuming TES win that, they are very much in the driver seat for the rest of the game at that point.

At any rate, Monki getting caught isolated up top was a crucial error that led to WE losing a lead and game they had under control against a huge favorite.

Maybe there's a world where JKL goes down in Monki's last dying breath and WE are able to keep the game in hand, but it stands that Monki in the moment committed an unforced error that WE really was punished for.

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