If it wasn’t for T1 winning the world championships back-to-back, LPL team BiliBili Gaming (BLG) was probably the best team in the world. On top of being a top team in the LPL, BLG made it to three international finals (runner-ups at MSI 2023 and 2024, as well as Worlds 2024).
Despite the strong momentum heading into the 2025 season, the team hasn’t been able to find the same level of domestic dominance so far. It only came fourth in the first split and is currently placed fourth once again in the second split. The team has been struggling to find a suitable identity in the new season to the point where BLG decided to bring in Yang “Beichuan” Ling from ThunderTalk Gaming (TT) mid-way into the split. Will that make a difference, and why is BLG unable to repeat the results from the previous year, despite maintaining most of its roster? This is my breakdown on BLG’s downward trend.
BLG – What’s the recipe for success in the current meta?
Throughout the past few years, we have started seeing a rising trend of teams looking to stick to the same lineup for longer periods of time. While roster swaps are being made every off-season, some of the top teams have moved towards keeping the same players for at least two years. Team Liquid and Cloud9 are two examples in North America, but the same can be said about the likes of T1 and G2 Esports before the start of this season.
Teams have understood that the road to success not only comes from the individual players’ performance but also from figuring out a strong synergy between the various “pawns” of the lineup. The coaching staff’s job is to figure out a way to make those pawns work in symbiosis, and given that League of Legends is a game heavily revolved around resources and economy, it’s also equally important to understand who can be the carry and who will fulfill the other roles needed to succeed.
A big difference brought this year is the implementation of Fearless Draft, which was later extended throughout the season. While teams in previous seasons used to find a synergic identity around their players’ strengths and stick to it, the Fearless Draft forced teams to reinvent themselves. The new dynamics caused by the ever-changing drafts have created a bigger challenge for all teams since individual players are obliged to be able to pilot a large pool of champions proficiently.
This also includes champions that might not be within players’ arsenal. For example, a player who is used to playing utility junglers might struggle to quickly adapt to carry junglers due to his playstyle and synergy with the rest of the team. It’s not that easy to switch and be able to play consistently every series in the top-tier competitions.
I believe this is the challenge BLG had the most when it used to play with Wei. While I think the guy is still a strong jungler, he hasn’t been able to make that switch work, as he is known for being an enabler more than a carry. When you compare him to other top junglers in the league like Xun, Kanavi, and Tarzan, it’s clear that he cannot pull off the carry role as good as these three players.
Why jungle players are so vital in the modern era of LoL
Last year, when Wei was first brought to BLG, the guy was able to find strong success in leading the team to the LPL title because of his ability to enable his teammates by playing for their lanes. Since then, the meta has shifted more towards dictating the tempo with strong macro coordination and finding fights around objectives. Wei hasn’t been able to make that shift, and paired with his limited champion pool due to Fearless Draft, his poor performance has indirectly affected the rest of the team.
Throughout the past few years, BLG has always been a jungle-driven team. Even though the roster had carry players on all three lanes, the one who made them gel well was Xun. The few times he struggled the most were when he was shut down individually, making him incapable of playing around his team.
Weirdly enough, T1 has been facing similar issues with their own roster swaps, which further proves that changing pawns can lead to repercussions for teams’ level of performance in the short term. Building it back up requires time, but BLG realized they don’t have the luxury of time, hoping Wei adapts or they can find a new style that works with him. When you have four of the best players in the league struggling at the same time, you know it’s not something related to players’ individual performance.
https://twitter.com/BilibiliGaming/status/1918641007153107148
This is why I think the Beichuan pick-up is quite positive. The former TT jungler was one of the reasons why the team was finding success in Split 1, and his jungle playstyle is better suited for BLG. What I think the team needs is a player who usually relies on being the enabler and finding engages for his team and occasionally switches up to other roles deeper into the series when pools are reduced. This should allow BLG to have more consistent gameplay across the board, raising their overall ceiling.
The team has been able to play more aggressively as Beichuan willingly helps out his team, which will then help him back when it comes to setting up and capturing neutral objectives. While Beichuan wasn’t particularly flashy, the entire team had a much stronger macro playing with him.
A lot of it is still a work in progress, but the first week with the new jungler saw BLG take two wins, one of them against direct competitors Weibo Gaming, who took down a lot of the other top teams in the LPL. It might not lead BLG immediately to the top of the league, but it should push them further into title contention.
Other issues lurking for BLG?
Let’s be clear—I believe BLG is still one of the strongest teams on paper, possibly the one with the highest ceiling among all LPL teams. Their floor is solid: they’ve taken at least one game off every opponent except JDG so far. For example, I think Anyone’s Legend’s (AL) top potential is lower, yet they have been incredibly consistent. Head coach Tabe has been extracting the near maximum potential from every single player, which is why they are fighting for the top.
BLG has just been a lot more volatile compared to the previous years, and when your most volatile player is the jungler, you know the team is going to suffer. Wei isn’t a bad player either—he just doesn’t fit with this iteration of BLG unless there is a favorable meta for his own playstyle. What BLG needs from the jungle to succeed now is a jungler with the ability to dictate the pace of the game, something Beichuan is strong at.
That said, BLG might have deeper issues to deal with in the long run: the coaching staff. In the first part of the season so far, the team has had questionable drafts, and it was clear that the team was no longer relying on its early aggression, which functioned so well in the past years. Whether the coaching staff can find a fix on this aspect will likely determine BLG’s presence at international tournaments.
The team must finish in the top four to advance directly to the playoffs. That being said, it won’t have the easiest of calendars. Six series are left, and BLG will have to face the top three teams in the league (TES, AL, and JDG): those three matches will give us a clear indication of their title hopes.
