After a fairy tale run to the grand final of MSI 2023, Bilibili Gaming found the title a step too far as they fell in a 3-1 series loss at the hands of LPL rivals JD Gaming. The team spoke to the media following the loss.
Top laner Chen “Bin” Ze-Bin has been a fan favorite at the tournament, and his performances for BLG at MSI have furthered claims that he is the best in the world at his role. Despite the disappointing end to the tournament, Bin was still able to find pride in their run, in particular for “eliminating two LCK teams… this is the first time an LPL team has done this and I’m quite proud of this.”
“We have accomplished something in the tournament… I feel it’s an okay performance because we have tried our best, we have put in full effort into the games and tried our best to mix the pick/bans. We just couldn’t beat JDG,” he said.
BLG jungler Peng “XUN” Li-Xun was equally proud of his team’s MSI performance, revealing how “it feels like, as a team, every single player in the team, we just have this perseverance. Although we lost to JDG this time, we are definitely not going to give up.”
In contrast, mid laner Zeng “Yagao” Qi was more open about the hurt caused by the defeat, admitting to feeling “very sad and regretful” after the loss. However, he found solace in the fact that “at least the LPL got the MSI trophy” while also feeling hometown pride “because both knight and I are from Pingxiang – Pingxiang got the trophy.”
In the loss, opposing mid laner knight was allowed a Jayce pick in all three defeats, whilst BLG’s only victory came when Yagou piloted the champion, meaning the pick was always on the winning side. Coach Wong “Tabe” Pak Kan admitted that only in the “very last moment” did he realize how high a priority the pick was, seeing as it did not see much play by other teams throughout the tournament.
“It feels like maybe, in this tournament, only our Jayce and JDG’s Jayce can be really troublesome. Before today’s matchup, we didn’t have much thought in preparation towards this, so maybe it’s a regret.”
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