BLG Reclaim Their Crown in LPL Split 1

Bilibili Gaming have claimed the LPL Split 1 2026 title with a 3-1 victory over JD Gaming. Chen "Bin" Ze-Bin was named Finals MVP after a dominant series that left little doubt: Giga Bin is back.

The end of the lane swap meta seems to have done wonders for the top laner. Bin bulldozed his direct opponent throughout the series, rendering Xiaoxu largely invisible outside of his Sion in game four. JDG's top laner finished with a cumulative KDA of 6/15/12 — a stat line that tells the story of a player who was consistently outclassed in lane and unable to impact the map. In his post-match interview, Bin made his intentions clear: "I feel like among LPL top laners right now, I'm probably the strongest. After First Stand, I'll prove that I'm the best top laner in the world." He then singled out Gen.G Kiin as his main rival: "Our biggest opponent at First Stand is Gen.G. Personally, my biggest opponent is their top laner Kiin. When I face him, I'm going to smash him."

Zhuo "knight" Ding remains the undisputed best player in the league, though Tsai "HongQ" Ming-Hong once again showed he may be the only mid laner currently capable of matching him. The 18yo JDG mid put up serious resistance throughout the series. When asked who he most wanted to face at First Stand, knight did not hesitate: "We've already been studying Gen.G. I hope we meet them in the final."

A revamped BLG, built to last

This title also marks a milestone for Park "Viper" Do-hyeon, who becomes champion in his first split back in the LPL. Fellow teammate Peng "Xun" Li-Xun kept things simple when asked about his message to the team heading to Brazil: "Let's win it all."

The return of Xun has proven transformative. Known as the in-game shotcaller behind BLG's remarkable 2023-2024 run — which included a Worlds Final appearance and a five-game series against T1 — Xun appears to have fully reassumed that role, as evidenced by the voice comms shared after the matches. Combined with Viper's arrival, BLG's structure feels significantly more solid than last year, when they failed to even qualify for Worlds playoffs.

Eyes on São Paulo

As LPL champions, BLG has been placed in the opposite group to Gen.G at First Stand, opening against BNK FearX while Gen.G face JDG. The two favorites will not meet before the Knockout Stage, should both advance. BLG may lack Gen.G's clinical precision, but they remain comfortably the best team in the LPL and China's strongest hope heading into the first international event of the year. On paper, since the roster was announced, they have looked like the biggest threat to LCK dominance. The first real test comes in São Paulo.

For JDG, the final was a step too far — but reaching it at all was already an overachievement for such a young roster. They pushed BLG to five games in the Upper Bracket and made the Grand Final competitive until the very end. With head coach Wong "Tabe" Pak-kan's track record of developing teams, there is no doubt this squad has enormous room for growth as the season progresses. The future looks bright.