The final week of the LPL is approaching. EDG, FPX and LNG have already guaranteed their spot, and are now awaiting the final seven teams. On the other hand, Victory Five, ThunderTalk Gaming, Ultra Prime and Rogue Warriors have already been eliminated, and their season ends next weekend. Ten teams remain, and most of them have their future in their own hands. Due to the nature of the LPL, today’s article won’t be a full cover of the week, as to ensure more accurate predictions towards the end of the split. Without further ado, here is the next few day’s worth of matches.
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Saturday’s first match features Rare Atom and RNG. After their losing week, Rare Atom have refound victory, winning both matches in week 7. They hold their fate in their own hands, and a victory here against RNG would confirm their playoff spot. It would also give them momentum going into said playoffs.
Opposing them, RNG are on a seven-match winning streak. They have eight match wins this split, so saying they are on a rampage would be an understatement. RNG are posing and ready to reclaim their LPL crown, and enter the hall of the select few that won both the Spring and Summer splits of the LPL.
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Image Courtesy of Leagepedia
Top Esports are looking very unstable. While they did manage to take down LNG earlier this week, they got slaughtered by IG last weekend. While Top Esports have the potential to be one of the best teams in the world, they have to regain their stability, if they want to even go to Worlds later this year.
Ultra Prime have been eliminated from the tournament. They had glimpses of greatness, but never managed to truly translate those glimpses into stability and consistent performances. That said, now that they have no more pressure to perform, they could be a dangerous underdog. An unstable team like Top Esports have to keep their guard up, less they find themselves in a rough situation.
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Speaking of rough situations, JD Gaming are currently outside of playoff contention. Currently, on a four-game losing streak, JD Gaming are 7 and 7, putting them at eleventh place, compared to OMG’s 8/6 record, who are currently tenth. After the amazing year they had in 2020, and remaining with the same roster, it is almost unthinkable that they would miss playoffs. But that is the current situation they find themselves in.
On the opposite side of the rift, FPX are on a five-game winning streak. Looking like one of, if not the, best teams in the LPL right now, FPX are looking ready for Worlds. Should they guarantee a top-two bye, along with EDG, they would all but book their spot at Worlds.
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
In what will be both of these team’s most important match of the entire season, OMG will take on LGD. Neither of these teams made playoffs in spring, while this match will decide which one of them will have a chance of making it in summer, and whose season will end next weekend. Both teams will have to put it all on the line to come out with the win on Sunday.
LGD made it to Worlds last year. With 3/5 of the same roster, LGD will want to repeat said feat. However, with many close loses and throws, LGD will have a harder time confirming their spot in playoffs. On the other hand, OMG have their chance to return to playoffs, with 2017 being the last team OMG made it to playoffs. In a year that they underwent a rejuvenation of their roster, making playoffs for the first time in four years isn’t a bad result.
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Sunday’s second match has IG facing off against Team World Elite. After taking down Top Esports, IG lost to Bilibili Gaming, a team in direct contention with them for a playoff spot. Sitting at 5/8, they are 3 wins behind OMG, the tenth-placed team. IG will need to win all their remaining matches if they want to make it into playoffs.
Team World Elite are on a bit of a winning streak themselves. After their strong performances in week seven, both Beishang and Elk made it into the team of the week, with Beishang being the general MVP. In a clash between two of the oldest orgs in Chinese League of Legends, Team World Elite have the chance to send IG home packing.
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
The first match of week nine has Ultra Prime taking on BLG. Ultra Prime, as mentioned, have already been eliminated. Other than their upset win over LNG, UP haven’t felt like a top team this split. Quite a few changes are likely in store for UP during the off-season. Either way, their final series of the split will be against BLG.
After almost four splits of consistently having a good roster but falling short, it looks like BLG will finally return to playoffs. While both Aiming and Weiwei have been consistent performers, the star of BLG this split has definitely been Zeka.
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia
The second match of the day will be much more important for the playoff standings. Rare Atom are trying to fight for a top-four bye. With FPX and EDG looking locked in the top-two, Rare Atom, LNG, RNG and Team WE are all fighting to skip to round 3 of the playoffs. However, the strength of schedule isn’t favorable to Rare Atom.
On the other hand, Suning are fighting for dear life. They are part of a massive group of teams that are all tied at 8 wins, only one more than eleventh placed JDG. A single loss by any one of those teams could spell doom for not only their playoff chance but their entire year. And while Suning have returned to their winning ways, their win over Victory Five was questionable, to say the least.
And that concludes the preview of the final days of Week 8, as well as the first day of week 9. The next article will be the final article of 2021’s regular season, so be sure to come back then!
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