The final match of the LPL’s 2021 season is nearly here. The entire season all comes down to this. EDG and FunPlus Phoenix will face each other one more time, this time for all the marbles. This match will decide who will go to Worlds as the LPL’s number 1 seed, joining Damwon Kia, MAD Lions, and 100 Thieves in pool 1. With the way the LPL playoffs is formatted, many agree that these two teams are truly the best the LPL has to offer. Without further ado, here are the two teams that will fight in the LPL 2021 Summer Split Grand-Finals.
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
2021 has been EDG’s best year in recent history. From the very start of spring to the end of summer, EDG looked dominant. In fact, EDG are the only team from a major region that looked like a possible number one seed the entire year. MAD Lions had a couple of rough weeks in both spring and summer. Damwon didn’t dominate the summer split like they did in spring.100 Thieves finished fourth in spring. Even FPX had an irregular spring split.
But not EDG. In Spring they were undefeated until week 6, going on to finish in second in the regular season. During the playoffs, they finished in third, after beating Top Esports 3:0, but falling to both FPX and RNG 3:2. In Summer they were undefeated until week 4, once again remaining in the top two until the very end, losing first place to FPX in the last series of the last week. And while they were knocked to the lower bracket by WE, they bounced back destroying LNG 3:1 and WE 3:0. From the moment Worlds was first mentioned in Spring, EDG have always been in the conversation to be the LPL’s number one seed.
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Despite all that was mentioned above, many still favour FPX coming into the Grand Finals. The team is on a ten-series winning streak, and in those ten series, they only dropped a game three times. FunPlus Phoenix are not only playing like one of the best teams in China, but are looking like one of, if not the, strongest team in the World. Even the aforementioned EDG weren’t enough to stop them, as they faced off in the final game of the round-robin.
One of the key parts of FPX’s supremacy in recent history is Doinb in the mid lane. Playing like a man possessed, Doinb picked up MVP 13 times during the round-robin, earning him the MVP of the season award, as well as a place on the number 1 All-Pro team. In their six games played in playoffs, Doinb won MVP four times, sitting behind Shanks, with six MVPs in 22 games, and Scout with five MVPs in 12 games. While many remember Doinb as the mid laner with the weird picks, like Nautilus and Kled, he has evolved into a super carry, playing everything from Twisted Fate to Akali to stoneplate Irelia.
With all that said, who will be the one to sure their spot as the number one team in the LPL? Will FPX continue their undefeated form and travel back to Europe, the site of their last World Championship win? Or will it be EDG who will lift the trophy, returning to their glory days of LPL domination? Be sure to tune into the live broadcast on Thursday, the second of September, at 5:30 A.M. Eastern Standard Time.
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