League of Legends Worlds 2023: Bilibili Gaming upset favourites Gen.G 3-2 to make semifinals

It’s shock and heartbreak for the South Korean League of Legends (LoL) community after their hometown heroes and the LoL Korea Championship (LCK) first seed Gen.G were outlasted 3-2 by the LoL Pro League (LPL) second seed Bilibili Gaming on Friday (3 November).

Gen.G came into Worlds as one of the heavy favourites to make it to the Grand Finals after a strong showing at the LCK Summer Playoffs that landed them the region’s Summer title. They have proven to be some of the “gods” to be defeated in the tournament, swiftly making a statement with a 3-0 record in the Swiss Stage that earned them an early slot into the Knockout stage.

Meanwhile, BLG were recognised as one of the stronger teams in the tournament — but they had to take the long road.

Coming into the competition as the LPL’s second seed, BLG had to grind all five rounds of the Swiss Stage: first winning against KT Rolster in the first round, then getting defeated by the LPL Summer Champions JD Gaming in the second round.

They then had to defeat Fnatic in the third round, which allowed them to have a rematch against T1 in the fourth round, the team that exacted revenge against them with a 2-0 sweep, leading BLG to finally defeat G2 Esports 2-1 in the 5th and last chance qualifier, to make it to the Knockout stage.

Given both team’s records and performance on the Swiss Stage, analysts and fans alike were confident that Gen.G had this in the bag.

But they were proven wrong very early in the quarterfinals, with BLG firing on all cylinders.

Here’s how the matches went:

In the first game, Gen.G took away Chen "Bin" Ze-Bin's signature Jax pick and went for Rell in the jungle, Azir mid, Aphelios bot, and Tahm Kench for support.

Meanwhile, BLG decided to go with Aatrox top, JarvanIV in the jungle, Orianna mid, Kalista bot and Renata Glasc as support.

BLG easily took control of the first game from the laning phase, taking advantage of Kalista’s early game power and Renata’s potential to turn around team fights.

Gen.G found themselves fumbling and committing uncharacteristic errors, which opened the door for BLG to widen the gap between them and seize control of the entire Summoner's Rift.

In a mere 29 minutes, BLG boldly advanced upon Gen.G, crushing their base and claiming victory in the first game with a remarkable 14-5 kill lead.

In the second game, Gen.G raised a few eyebrows with their decision to play from the red side and a subpar draft compared to their opponents. They opted for Aatrox in the top lane, Maokai as the jungler, Azir in the mid lane, Aphelios in the bottom lane, and Milio as their support.

In contrast, BLG once again triumphed in the drafting phase, securing Orianna for the mid lane, employing Jarvan IV in the jungle, and enlisting Renata Glasc as their support. They rounded out their composition with Rumble in the top lane and Xayah in the bottom lane.

Once again, like clockwork, BLG executed their strategy flawlessly, with Peng "Xun" Li-Xun's Jarvan IV dominating the jungle.

At the same time, the rest of their lanes applied relentless pressure on Gen.G throughout the map. In a mere 28 minutes, BLG convincingly concluded the game with a commanding 14-3 kill advantage and an impressive 16,000 gold lead.

Backs against the wall, Gen.G made crucial changes in the third game, banning Renata Glasc and adopting a more aggressive strategy with Kai'sa, Nautilus, Aatrox, Maokai, and Yone in their lineup.

On the other side, BLG responded with Renekton top, and Caitlyn and Braum in the bot lane, sticking with Jarvan IV in the jungle and Orianna in the mid lane.

The early laning phase was rather uneventful, as both teams focused on farming and scaling their champions, gearing up for later map objectives. Gen.G secured first blood for Doran, but BLG gained a kill advantage after a bot lane skirmish swung in their favour.

Although the South Korean favourites continued to make uncoordinated mistakes throughout the match, they found ways to minimise their losses, continued to get wins in scrappy fights, contesting map objectives as much as they could and getting the gold.

Gen.G seized an opportunity in the late game at the Baron pit, taking down three BLG members, securing the Baron buff, and gaining a gold advantage. They repeated this feat, cracking open BLG's base on their second Baron buff.

After eliminating BLG's Bin in the jungle, Gen.G secured the Baron for the third game, sealing the deal in a hard-fought 46-minute match with a 13-9 kill lead, keeping their hopes alive in the series.

In the fourth game, BLG stuck to their guns with Jarvan in the jungle, but taking Neeko in the mid lane, K’sante top, and Ashe and Tahm Kench in the bot lane.

Gen.G, on the other hand, decided to shake things up by adding an AD champion, Akali, in the mid lane, Rumble in the top lane, Vi in the jungle, and rounding out their composition with Kalista and Rell in the bot lane.

Both teams actively scoured for advantages during the laning phase, aiming to gain the upper hand early on. Map objectives and gold remained neck and neck until the mid-game, with BLG maintaining the overall kill lead.

However, Gen.G seized an opportunity in the jungle, eliminating two BLG members, which allowed them to bulldoze through the mid lane. The South Korean powerhouse continued to triumph in team fights, steadily increasing their gold lead against their opponents.

In a pivotal mid-lane skirmish, Gen.G decimated BLG, with Han "Peanut" Wang-ho on Vi and Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon on Akali on a rampage, enabling them to march through BLG's base and shatter the Nexus.

This 35-minute game ended with a commanding 20-11 kill lead, propelling Gen.G to victory in the fourth game and pushing the series to Silver Scrapes.

In the fifth game decider, Gen.G kept Vi in the Jungle and Akali mid, and then rounding out the team composition with Kai’sa and Rell in the bot lane, and Gnar top.

Meanwhile, BLG went back to what gave them success, prioritising JarvanIV in the jungle and Orianna mid, and then taking Rumble top. They then surprised the entire stadium with a Senna-Tahm Kench combination in the bot lane, despite knowing that Senna wasn’t their AD Carry’s strongest champion.

The early game felt like the calm before the storm with both teams equal in gold and only 1 kill on BLG’s pockets. Gen.G picked up the pace of the game, finding picks in the mid-game.

BLG, however, remained steadfast, pushing away Gen.G from their advances, and finding success in the river near the Dragon, taking down Chovy and Doran in the team fight, which made way for BLG to take the Baron for themselves.

With the Baron buff on their backs, BLG marched forward, looking to end the game, taking down most of Gen.G’s inhibitors.

But the South Korean Summer champs fought with all they had, fending off BLG’s siege but only for a moment. Even if both teams looked even on paper, BLG were able to ride on their momentum, finishing off Gen.G in the jungle, and allowing BLG to take the Baron for themselves a second time.

Despite Gen.G’s last stand to defend their base and their tournament lives, their base fell to BLG after a 33-minute encounter and a 14-6 kill gap, allowing BLG to win the game and the series.

Zhao "Elk" Jia-Hao was notably named Player of the Game in this series, showing flexibility with his champion pool and showing up in team fights.

In the post-match interview, Elk emphasised that their mentality coming into the 5th game was very important, especially since the opponent was about to attempt a reverse sweep. “Our coaching staff told us that we need to keep a calm mindset.”

He also commended his teammates despite being named Player of the Game. “It just feels like it was the entire team that carried the games together in this best-of-five.”

Meanwhile, Gen.G bow out of the competition in 5th to 8th place with $100,125 in consolation.

BLG will be facing fellow LPL team Weibo Gaming in the semifinals in Seoul on 11 November.

Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.

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