If there is any team you should be rooting for right now in League of Legends esports, it should be Team WE. This mid-pack team pulled off not one, but two of the greatest upsets of the season and are now one series away from qualifying for the Mid-Season Invitational.

While everyone loves an underdog story, Team WE’s success feels different. Once considered one of the faces of Chinese esports, the team is far from its glorious days. Could this be the start of a new chapter? And are they one of the most dangerous teams to face in the world, right now? 

At the start of the season, Team WE had formed a roster that didn’t really stand out from the pack. It kept its top side trio of Dai “Cube” Yi, Wang “Monki” Meng-Qi, and Kim “Karis” Hong-jo and brought in a new bot lane with Korean ADC Moon “About” Hyeong-seok and Chen “yaoyao” Si-Yuan, following the departure of Kim “Taeyoon” Tae-yoon and Zhao “Vampire” Zhe-can.

The first split of the 2026 season went by without many surprises, with Team WE constantly in the mid-pack. Their top-eight finish, however, allowed them to be placed with the big boys in Group Ascend for the second split.

While playing with strong teams can help weaker teams improve, Team WE struggled to find its footing in the LPL Split 2 regular season, winning only 1 of 14 matches. 

Even though the addition of support Shi “Erha” Xu-Ye didn’t yield much in results initially, Team WE was slowly improving and building all the necessary elements bit by bit, just in time for when it mattered the most.

This is proven by the team’s game record: after losing the first 8 series with 0-2 records, Team WE began winning games and taking maps from most teams, including JD Gaming. 

Despite a few wins, the team still finished last in Group Ascend, forcing them to play LNG Esports in the play-ins stage.

Team WE’s rise in form came exactly during this series. After being pushed to five games, Team WE came back from a 5,000-gold deficit through their teamfighting and kept their playoff hopes alive. The issue was that BLG picked WE in their first round: the best team in the league was facing the bottom team of Group Ascend.

Against all odds, Team WE took BLG down with a 3-1 record. The series wasn’t clean, but the victory wasn’t just down to pure luck or BLG having a bad day: Team WE fought back from losing positions and outplayed what was considered the best team in the world through stronger coordination and cohesion.

Team WE proved to everyone that the victory was not a fluke, proceeding to dismantle the #4 seed Anyone’s Legend with another clean 3-0. 

The scariest part of Team WE right now is their cohesion as a five-man unit. They have proven to be more coordinated than any other team in the league, with all five players making the same decision.

And at the heart of that cohesive decision-making is jungler Monki.

The guy has established himself as the main voice and shotcaller of the squad while also matching the best junglers in terms of individual performance. When Monki calls for a play, everyone on the team will follow his directives, even if they might not be perfect. 

Dplus Kia head coach Kim “cvMax” Dae-ho had explained this concept in the past: “If all five members come down to make the same decision in any given circumstance, they can turn a wrong answer right.”

By removing the need to question whether a play is correct in the moment, Team WE can always be the first to move, putting pressure on opponents to fight back. This is what happened in the series against both BiliBili Gaming (BLG) and Anyone’s Legend (AL). In particular, BLG was often caught off guard in teamfight scenarios despite having the gold lead. 

Top laner Cube himself shared in an interview that he’s now more prone to listening to Monki’s plays: “I just do whatever he tells me to do.”

According to Chinese esports analyst Lan Bao Shi (蓝宝石), Monki also has another strong tendency in his gameplay that has worked out in the recent victories: his willingness to change tempo. In a meta where most junglers tend to full clear before making plays, Monki often tries to disrupt the orthodox jungle clears through unexpected gank timers and pathings.

While it’s a high-risk strategy that can cause him to fall behind in gold and experience, Monki won out on many of those plays and built substantial leads for his team. 

That does not mean WE is flawless. The team still has some clear weaknesses; it’s just that the meta is helping hide some of them.

For example, top laner Cube has been thriving in recent weeks now that the meta has shifted towards a more weakside environment. At the start of the split, when it was still about lane dominance, he struggled to keep up with the best top laners.

Now, he’s able to absorb that pressure and consistently show up in the fights with enough resources.

Bot laner About also had initial struggles in adapting earlier this season. It’s not a coincidence that Team WE’s rise also aligned with About’s improved performance. All esports teams need to rely on their ADC in the late-game teamfights, so the Korean marksman must keep his form moving forward.

Additionally, Monki could also be targeted by other teams moving forward, knowing how vital his pathings are for the squad. 

Could Team WE make it to the Mid-Season Invitational? To put it simply, the chances are real. Not only did Team WE prove they can take down the top teams, but their gameplay is solid as well. 

The upper bracket final series against Top Esports will not only be crucial for determining which LPL team will be the first locked for MSI, but will also shed light on whether Team WE can be exploited for its weaknesses.

If Top Esports (TES) manages to win, it will become golden material for Team WE’s future opponents to review and study. If they can’t, then this Team WE roster can be a frightening opponent for MSI.

Regardless of how it goes, Monki and his teammates will have the momentum on their side. Caedrel said it best: “This team just feels like they’re on a run. They’ve got something behind them. They’ve got momentum. They’ve got belief. All the players are bought into this idea, this style they’ve adopted… It’s like lightning in a bottle.”

The question is: Will Team WE continue to evolve, or will the other LPL teams catch up first? The answer will directly dictate whether they are going to be a top dog for the rest of the season.

Even though the Mid-Season Invitational is less than three weeks away, teams across the world are busy with their spring splits. Some leagues have crowned their champions while others are still finalizing their seeds, with four teams still to be confirmed.

This past week, Top Esports has booked its place, leaving BiliBili Gaming, Anyone’s Legend, and Team WE fighting for the second spot. G2 Esports came out on top again, beating Karmine Corp in the LEC Versus final rematch. FURIA has proven that Brazil can fight with its own talent.

In North America, LYON dominated Cloud9, with big question marks regarding its true potential. Dplus Kia’s elimination raises many questions, both inside and outside the Rift.

Here are some of the most interesting storylines leading up to MSI

At the start of the split, no one thought Team WE would end up fighting for a spot at MSI, yet the team made the unthinkable reality. Unfortunately, that hope is getting dimmer now after the loss against Top Esports, who have once again locked an international appearance.

TES’ 3-0 win not only ended WE’s momentum but also exposed WE’s weaknesses. The latter had shown their ability to drag their opponents into their comfort zone, which relied on chaotic skirmishes.

Top Esports understood that and did the exact opposite, using their strong fundamentals to fight on their own terms, with jungler Gao “Tian” Tian-Liang dictating the tempo of the game.

With the loss, the scenarios for Team WE are getting complicated. BiliBili Gaming has seemingly recovered from the upset and is looking dominant, with all their players in great form, especially support Luo “ON” Wen-Jun.

“There’s not a player in the world that plays like ON right now, truly fearless in the way he approaches every play – and BLG are better for it,” said color caster Alex “Nymaera” Hapgood. A potential rematch is expected to be in BLG’s favor, unless Monki pulls off another miracle.

G2 Esports winning Europe is almost routine at this point. The 3-2 win over Karmine Corp gave the organization its 19th LEC title and will send G2 directly to MSI’s Bracket Stage. KC, after coming close to the title, will start from Play-Ins.

While it wasn’t a clean stomp, G2’s wins were spearheaded by a monstrous Rudy “SkewMond” Semaan, who went deathless in the team’s three wins. The jungler, who rightfully earned the MVP award, even pulled out a Nasus jungle, “bonking” his enemies.

His performances and importance within the team bring up the question that is starting to follow him: Is SkewMond the best European player to emerge since Caps?

Even though the claim is still a bit too early, he’s on course to be that guy. The level of dominance ever since his debut last year, paired with G2’s recent strong international record, is elevating him to that status. He will need a bit more time to build his résumé, but the trend suggests that everything is lining up well for the French player.

For EU fans, G2 and KC were the best teams to send based on what they’ve shown in Spring. The French squad will be one to watch, especially given that they will have to face the LCK #2 seed to enter the top eight. While it could be a short run, it will definitely be a valuable one, especially considering KC is expected to be among the EU representatives for Worlds 2026.

Dplus Kia is not going to MSI. Their run ended after the loss against KT Rolster in the worst way possible. Despite leading in both Game 4 and Game 5, the team dropped both games in heated teamfights. 

Aside from the gameplay, however, a lot of DK’s attention has been outside of the game. At the end of the series, head coach Kim “cvMax” Dae-ho was once again caught in the eyestorm after making inappropriate comments during the post-match interview, prompting the organization to enforce higher standards for media communication.

This is just the latest controversy around DK’s head coach, following earlier criticism of his harsh coaching style. While the potential is there, as clearly shown by the team throughout the first part of the LCK season, DK needs to create a healthier environment, far away from the drama.

While missing MSI is understandable given the presence of powerhouses like T1, Hanwha Life Esports, and Gen.G, Dplus Kia will need to get into the top four if they want a shot at Worlds.

Cloud9’s 0-3 loss to LYON in the LCS Spring Playoffs is giving fans deja vu from last year, when the team failed to qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational. It’s not just about the loss: the team looked lost compared to LYON, unable to match its teamfights. 

A Reddit user explained C9’s form perfectly: “They used to be the underdogs, the cluch team that could punch above their weight… Now they’re the regular season leaders who anti-clutch and find new and innovative ways to choke every time it matters.” 

C9 has shown repeatedly to have consistency throughout the regular season but fails to level up its gameplay when it matters the most. The sweep will inevitably put a lot of pressure on C9, who will now face Team Liquid for the second MSI spot. 

Mid laner Lim “Quid” Hyeon-seung has stepped up lately, taking up more of a carry role within the team, similar to how it was when he played for 100Thieves last year. The mid-jungle will likely be the key to the match.

FURIA earned back-to-back appearances at MSI following a strong showing throughout the second split. 

The victory, however, seems to have also changed the perspective on CBLOL teams’ roster building. The fact that FURIA won with a full Brazilian team proved that Brazil can rely on its own talents to win domestically and earn the international qualification.

This seems to be leading many organizations to follow a similar path, with many teams looking to change their import players. 

LOUD is reportedly looking to change both jungler Ko “YoungJae” Yeong-jae and ADC Song “Bull” Seon-gyu with Brazilian players Enzo “Sinatra” Candido Ferreira and Yudi Leonardo “NinjaKiwi” Miyashiro. V

ivo Keyd Stars will not only have a new head coach in Ludvig Erik Hugo “Smiley” Granquist but also see the departure of Korean top laner Choi “Wizer” Eui-seok and support Ling “Kaiwing” Kai Wing, who was supposed to elevate VKS to new heights. 

Brazil is moving towards more domestic talents again: “Invest in LATAM,” said a user on Reddit. “Stop looking at Korea when there’s proof local talent can go toe to toe with NA at least.”

While imports can quickly raise a team’s ceiling through strong fundamentals, Brazil’s greatest runs were built on the synergy of local talent, with unexpected playstyles and strategies. 

Last year, FURIA came close to upsetting G2 Esports in the play-in stage. With them now directly to the bracket stage, the Brazilian team will have the golden opportunity to showcase CBLOL’s potential to the world.