As week 6 draws nearer, there are no longer any undefeated teams in the LPL. LNG fell to Rare Atom on Saturday, and EDG fell to Top Esports on Sunday. While both teams are expected to remain at the top of the standings, they no longer remain invincible. However, on the opposite side of the table, Victory Five remains without a win to their name. Whispers of being the first org to archive zero series wins twice can already be heard around the arenas. With all that said, here are the next couple of days of action.
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
After LNG lost to Rare Atom, many fans are concerned that the team might experience a mental boom. With players like Icon and Ale, who are known to be irregular players, such a worry is understandable. However, considering they are up against Ultra Prime, this probably won’t be the match that they would experience said tilt.
Ultra Prime have had a rough split so far. After looking decent enough at the start, Ultra Prime returned to be a bottom-of-the-table team that bigger teams just walked all over. It wasn’t until their recent match against Victory Five, that they managed to get another win on the board. Things aren’t looking good to Ultra Prime fans, as the team is most likely headed for another bottom-of-the-table finish.
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Another team that stumbled over the past weekend was EDG. While it was more on Top Esports overperforming than EDG underperforming, EDG were still the favorites to win. However, a lot like LNG before them, their bounce-back opponents aren’t the hardest opponents, so they should return to business as usual.
ThunderTalk Gaming have had a rough split so far. TT haven’t won any games, let alone series, against anyone other than Victory Five, who they beat, or LNG, who they lost to 2:1. It is once again looking dire for TT fans, who are expecting to once again, finish at the bottom of the table.
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
In what should be a very interesting match, RNG will take on IG. RNG have had a rough start to the split so far. Sitting at 2:5, the only time we saw a glimpse of their former selves was in their last match against LGD. With losses to other underperforming teams, such as Suning, it is unknown when and if RNG will return to their spring form.
Speaking of irregular performances, IG had a wild previous week. On Saturday, they shocked the league destroying FPX in a clean, 2:0 series, only to lose to Rogue Warriors on Monday. This team is all over the place right now, and with NoFe still not with the team, IG may remain like this until the end of the split.
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Bilibili finally managed to get a good series under their belt. After so long looking like a gatekeeper team, BLG managed to take down someone that was above them in the standings and power rankings. While their victory over FPX was far from clean, the got the win and in the end, that’s all that matters. That also creates distance from the teams under them, like Suning and IG, giving them an advantage towards the end of the split.
Speaking of massive upsets, Rogue Warriors are also coming off a victory. They managed to take down IG, the same IG that took down FPX on the weekend. While this could be narrowed down to IG massively underperforming, Rogue Warriors did perform well, and their new top laner and jungler performed well.
Image Courtesy of Leagepedia
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
In a match that would under normal circumstances be an amazing match, will most likely be a walk in the park. Suning aren’t looking too great this split, much worse than they were in the beginning of spring. In a rivalry that blossomed in the past year, Top Esports always seems to bring out the best in Suning. Suning fans will hope that said magic will happen once again.
On the other hand, Top Esports have blossomed back into form. Knight has been putting on exceptional performances, and JackeyLove has once against decided to play. After taking down EDG, a team that was previously undefeated, a team like Suning, who might not make playoffs, should be a walk in the park.
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Week five’s final match features JD Gaming and Team WE. JD Gaming were on a bit a slump, but in the previous match against Rare Atom, something clicked, and the team once again looked like a playoff team. This match will serve as a showcase for JDG’s improvement. A convincing win here should mean that JDG are back in business. But failure here could spell trouble for JDG fans.
Team World Elite are on the opposite boat. The started the split off well, but now are starting to faulter off. First FPX, than RA, and now OMG, Team WE aren’t looking too hot. A win here could put them back on track, but a loss would tie them up with BLG and put their playoffs spot in risk.
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Week six will start off with a match between two of the oldest orgs in the LPL. LGD has hit a rough patch recently, with losses to RNG and FPX. LGD has been consistently inconsistent, as it seems like they have a good week, followed by a poor week. While this means that they will most likely make playoffs, it will be a struggle, as they will most likely start at round one.
On the other hand, EDG are wanting to return to their top form. While they did lose to Top Esports, their loss was a competitive one, and they didn’t get stomped out. Still viewed as one of, if not, the best team in the world, EDG will want to prove their superiority against LGD.
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
The second match of the day features FPX and Rare Atom. FPX seems to have bounced back from their poor week, with a solid win over LGD. However, with Nuguri being benched due to health issues, Xiaolaohu has some big shoe to fill. He looked impressive against LGD, but he will need to be consistent if FPX wants to take down Rare Atom.
Up against FPX, Rare Atom have a few questions to answer. When they took down LNG, many thought that they were ready to be considered as one of the best teams in the world. However, a lose at the hands of JD Gaming, a team that was truly on struggle street raised a few questions. How strong are Rare Atom and how far can they really go?
And that concludes the preview of the final days of week 5. Today’s article will be shorter than usual, but the rest of the action will be published on Monday. Stay tuned!
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