BLG got there in the end. Bilibili Gaming beat LGD GAMING 2-1 in LPL Week 5 on August 20, though LGD made them work for it by taking a first game that stretched to 55:42.

That opener belonged to LGD's solo laners. Burdol's Olaf went 5/1/4 and Tangyuan's Akali finished 6/1/3, as LGD won the kill count 14-7 and knocked down seven towers to BLG's three. It was hardly a blowout on the gold sheet, with LGD ahead by around 3,000, but BLG's top side struggled: Bin's Ambessa died five times.

Viper and Knight take over

Whatever BLG changed afterwards, it worked. The second game was the closest on kills, at 17-16, yet BLG finished it in 32:03 with a gold lead of more than 11,000, nine towers and all four dragons. Viper's Ashe was the standout, going 7/0/4 with 29,163 damage, the highest figure in the game. Tangyuan did everything he could on Rumble for LGD, with nine kills and a hand in 94% of his team's takedowns, but the objectives tilted heavily one way.

The decider was arguably the cleanest game of the series. BLG won it 18-2 on kills in 32:53, and three of their starters, Bin, Xun and Knight, finished without a single death. Knight's Syndra went 6/0/9 and Xun's Pantheon put up 19,800 damage, a big number for a jungler. LGD's whole roster registered two kills between them, and Shaoye's Kalista died six times.

Plenty for LGD to take away

For LGD, the series will feel like an opportunity that slipped. They won a long game against BLG on the back of Burdol and Tangyuan, and the mid laner remained their most productive player in the second game too. Once BLG's bottom lane and mid found their footing, LGD seemingly had no answer, and the gap only widened in the third game.

BLG, meanwhile, leave with the win but also with a reminder that a slow first game can cost them nearly an hour. Whether the Bin of the opener or the deathless Bin of the decider is the one who turns up next will be worth watching as the LPL season continues.