Since the coronation of EDG at the world championships, the balance of power has changed a lot in the Middle Kingdom. The level is relatively homogeneous, and the ten qualified teams each have a good chance of shining, especially considering that the eleventh team OMG caused problems this week for three of the teams in the playoffsincluding the second in the ranking.
BLG, RA, FPX, EDG, not so far from the top teams
The seventh position of the reigning world champions could suggest a collapse of the team, but ultimately they are only two wins behind the second in the standings. In percentage of victories, they are even 4th in the league having rarely lost their confrontations without taking at least one game. The team still has a very aggressive style of play, relying heavily on Scout’s staggers to create the overkill (Ryze/Vex/Twisted Fate/Corki are the champions he’s played the most), and Meiko to initiate the fights, while taking the role of frontlane.
Bilibili Gaming confirmed their role as an emerging powerhouse during the regular season. They too have an aggression-based style of play, although they are a bit slower than EDward Gaming, preferring to take stronger champions in late game and teamfight (Orianna / Azir in midlane, Gwen on top). Their matches are a bit slower than the overall LPL average (33 mins against 31 mins on average). Their opponents will have to jump at their throats to destabilize them, which is not necessarily to the advantage of the team, aggression being almost a religion in LPL.
Rare Atom is a bit of a UFO among qualified teams. Their early game stats are pretty poor, and they rarely get first blood and first towers back (47% and 34% of the time). It should also be noted that Leyan regularly forces their opponents to banish his Nidalee, even if he has not won any match with her this season. The team shines much more during teamfights than during the lane phase, and it is important not to bury them even with several thousand gold behind (well, if there’s 8k delay at 10 minutes, it’s still bent…).
The Fun Plus Phœnix had to fight until the last minute against the OMGs to finally validate their ticket. The team can count on Care and Gori at midbut both players’ champion pool is quite limited, making them predictable in drafts. Unlike the majority of other teams, it is the jungler Clid who is most prominent in the team, and his Viego will undoubtedly be contested during champion select. They are probably the team with the least chance of advancing to the next round, but they still beat RNG and BLG in the regular season, so the feat is within their reach.
TES, WBG, LNG, JDG, serious contenders for the final victory
Weibo Gaming is also a team whose early game can be improved, with only 43% first rounds taken and 30% first blood. TheShy proves he can still sit at the top table, regularly forcing bans on Gwen with whom he is undefeated, and Gnar. He is still as versatile as ever, also being a good tank player with Sion in particular. This allows SoFM to go on Viego in the jungle and deal extra damage in skirmishes. It is the latter that make the great strength of the team, while Angel allows the team to also play teamfights with classic mages (Orianna / Victor).
Top Esports also emphasizes skirmishes, with very aggressive champions. They’re one of the few teams to favor Hecarim in drafts, and Tian’s stats on the champion prove them right. They also shouldn’t underestimate Wayward, whose Graves has caused problems for many opponents. The team relies heavily on this style of play, and may struggle to hold on if they can’t get enough of an early game lead.
LNG Esports bets even more on skirmishes than their rivals. Tarzan is the team’s metronome, tasked with creating opportunities with Lee Sin or initiating dives with Volibear. Doinb can very quickly arrive as reinforcements with Ryze, Corki, or even Galio if necessary. The midlaner also knows how to step back with excellent Karma. The team tries to put Light into orbit, relying on his Jinx or Aphelios to deal the damage. Ale is often left alone in toplane, with a pick like Jayce, allowing him to farm from a distance. Finally, the big weakness of LNGs is that their opponents know in advance that in 80% of cases, they will try to play around their botlane.
Despite finishing third in the regular season, JD Gaming are second in the LPL in terms of winning percentage. The team is a follower of the proverb Win lane, win game, preferring to try to win on all fronts, even if it means neglecting the collective game a little more. They’re not bad at it either, no team being bad at this level of play, but they’re perfectly capable of preferring a good splitpush to a bad teamfight. In terms of team originality, only 369 really stands out with a Kennen top, capable of making the difference at all times. They are one of the most difficult teams to face, as the threat can come from anywhere.
RNG and V5, the titans of the LPL
RNGs are also staunch defenders of the win lane, win game, but unlike Top Esports, it is in skirmishes that they will seek to make a difference. Their favorite strategy is to grab and kill an opponent, group together in threes or fours on a lane to force their opponents to defend, while a player goes to recover an objective in another place. They don’t splitpush in the literal sense of the word, preferring to put pressure on to force their opponents to move and take the kill on one of their moves, but you’ll rarely see them four-man defending while a player is trying to bring down towers elsewhere on the map.
At the champion pool level, only Bin really stands out with Jax and Camille who he plays regularly, the other players being content with meta picks. It is not necessarily complicated to anticipate their drafts, but their compositions are always thought out so as not to have any major weaknesses, letting the players make the difference on the map.thanks to their mastery of the macro.
The first thing you notice about the Victory Five is how well respected Karsa’s Lee Sin is, with opponents banning him in 63% of games, which is well above meta bans. The jungler also regularly forces a Hecarim ban, which greatly handicaps their opponents who suddenly have a lot less bans for the rest of the draft. Karsa’s 100% winrate on these two champions (for 14 games, i.e. half of the victories of the V5s) shows that these choices are more a matter of necessity than comfort. Add to that that Rookie and Photic are also forcing bans on Leblanc and Zeri (although we’re still in the meta bans with those two champions), and proof of the power of the Victory Five in the LPL appears.
The team tends to play around their botlane, letting Rich make the difference in toplane with a split pusher. It should also be noted that Photic and Ppgod are also able to shine with the duo Tahm Kench / Senna, to realize the headache that represents the preparation of the drafts against the V5s. It is therefore a very strong team in the laning phase, with a strong taste for skirmishes, allowing them to snowball very quickly. The icing on the cake, they are more than competent during teamfights, having made some compositions around them, even if it is not their favorite style. For all these reasons, they are the logical favorites of the tournament.
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Barely returned to the competitive League of Legends circuit, Uzi is removed from the scene. This decision, announced as joint with the team and the player, was made due to synergy issues within the roster.