EWC 2026: In the League of Legends competition, the dominance of China and South Korea has declined. Where did the problem lie?

Those familiar with the League of Legends community know that the tournament has been dominated by LCK and LPL for many years. The two major regions have different development paths. The former focuses on youth training camps and constantly discovers talents. Newcomers can reach the number one ranking in the Korean server before they even debut. Faker, the consecutive champion, caused a huge uproar during the transfer period, attempting to break up the championship lineup.

On the other hand, LPL is experiencing low viewership. Viewers are fed up with veteran players' poor performances, and the game's popularity continues to decline, forcing streamers to change careers. Despite the disappointing return after each match, they still hope for a glimmer of hope to lead them out of their predicament. Therefore, when they come to the Esports World Cup, an international stage, everyone will still support them.

Unfortunately, the international competitive landscape has undergone a dramatic shift. DK pulled off a major upset and fought their way forward. A team that was owed wages and even faced difficulties being sold, their outstanding performance this time has likely attracted interest from many executives, and the players will finally receive their due salaries. The poor performance of the seven Chinese and Korean teams raises the question: what exactly went wrong?

Some netizens believe it's due to fatigue, given that they dominated multiple S-level tournaments, exhaustion is one possibility. However, it's also possible that they've been living in their comfort zone for too long, becoming overly complacent and having their advantages exploited. Whether it's T1 or BLG, KC managed to turn the tide. The common thread is that neither of them expected to lose, maintaining a calm mindset. Is this good or bad?

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