In the decisive game between G2 Esports and Bilibili Gaming (BLG), there was a moment that appeared to be a potential bug involving Kalista’s spear.
Last night, the final matches of the Swiss round were played to determine which teams would secure the last spots in the Quarterfinals. With the stakes incredibly high, all the matches were closely contested, with each one going to a crucial third game to decide the winner.
The standout match from this round was undoubtedly between the first seed of the LPL (BLG) and the first seed of the LEC (G2). Both teams had faced difficulties throughout the Swiss round at Worlds 2024, and neither had shown their peak form.
Nonetheless, the strength of a region’s first seed cannot be underestimated, and it was clear from the start that just one small misstep could determine the outcome of the match, especially in the all-important third game.
This was exactly what happened during a mid-lane fight in game 3. The pivotal moment of the match occurred when Bin used the Zhonya’s Hourglass to avoid a potentially fatal spear from Kalista. Following this, BLG’s ADC took advantage of the situation and managed to finish off both Kalista and Xin Zhao, effectively turning the tide of the fight.
From that point forward, G2 found themselves constantly under pressure from BLG, especially in the bottom lane. This pressure ultimately led to G2’s defeat as BLG capitalized on their control of the map and objectives to close out the game.
Many pointed to Hans Sama’s failure to pull out Kalista’s spear in time as the turning point of the game. Had Bin been eliminated, G2, with all five players still alive, could have regrouped and taken control of the situation, possibly altering the entire flow of the game.
Immediately after this incident, G2 paused the game, asking Riot Games to review whether there had been a bug preventing Kalista from finishing off Bin by withdrawing her spear. This sparked quite a bit of discussion among fans, who were eager to know if a bug had influenced the outcome of the game.
After reviewing the incident, Riot Games determined that there was no bug, and the match resumed as normal. Despite this, the situation continued to fuel debate among fans, with many questioning the outcome.
Upon closer examination of the abilities and items involved in that fight, it became clear that everything had worked as intended. It’s important to remember that Kalista’s E ability, Rend, which pulls out the spears, always has a slight delay before it activates, whereas Zhonya’s Hourglass provides instant stasis. In this particular case, it was simply a matter of Bin timing his Hourglass perfectly to avoid the spear, leaving Hans Sama with no one to blame but himself for not activating Rend earlier.
In the end, despite the discussions and speculation about the potential bug, Riot’s ruling that there were no bugs remained unchanged. Regardless, BLG had established a significant advantage by this point, and the missed spear likely did not have a major impact on the overall outcome of the match.