The LPL is coming back this Friday. While normally a new split means massively changed rosters, this summer, few teams actually made many changes, so the power rankings won’t be that different from what they were in spring. Nonetheless, there are a few changes that are definitely worth mentioning. After covering the teams that are expected to finished between 17th and 11th, here are the top ten teams in the LPL Summer Split power rankings.
10 – Ultra Prime
One of the bigger changes is Ultra Prime’s arrival in the playoff race. After spending the last few splits running on a outside chance that they would make playoffs, this time they seem ready to really contest for the spot.
A large reason of this massive change in fortune was Zoom’s arrival in the top lane. While he had a rough couple of splits, he is still a veteran top laner that demands massive respect. This also gives Ultra Prime another viable lane to play by, instead of just relying on Elk to carry their games. Ultra Prime is definitely a team to watch out for this summer.
9 – FunPlus Phoenix
Moving up and improving from their spring placement, FPX should end up around ninth. They are likely going to end up as a gatekeeping team, but this can vary. Starting Care from the beginning of the split instead of Gori will be a massive upgrade to FPX’s solo lanes.
Speaking of solo lanes, there is a rumor that Summit, formerly with C9, will join FPX as their top laner. This would add a level of versatility to their top lane, allowing them to be more competitive than being just a gatekeeping team. However, this is yet to be confirmed, so for now, FPX stays here.
8 – Weibo Gaming
Next up in the lpl summer power rankings is Weibo Gaming. They have made no changes to their roster, but they did bring back their academy top laner. Despite ending in the top six in the spring, they tend to be much more inconsistent during the regular season.
Another reason why they are fairly low is also that TheShy is expected to miss the first few matches. Many places in China still have ongoing Covid-19 lockdowns, so quite a few of the korean players who went home for their break will be delayed. This is the speculative reason as to why Decade was promoted from their academy team. However, this will also mean that the team will be significantly weaker until TheShy returns.
7 – EDG
Putting the current world champions so low is a difficult thing to do, but after their spring performance it is a must. Despite keeping their World’s winning roster, EDG’s form slumped this spring, as they failed to even get past the second round of playoffs.
They made no significant changes for the Summer Split, other than bringing Junjia back. And so EDG will have to prove that their spring performance was simply a team-wide underperformance. As it currently stands, EDG wouldn’t even be making it to the Regional Finals, let alone Worlds. They have an uphill battle, but if there is a team that can dig themselves out of this hole, it is EDG.
6 – JDG
Another team that made no changes for the Summer Split was JDG. One of the bigger surprises of the Spring Split, JDG made it much further than expected. After making it into the top four, JDG will want to have a similar performance, in hopes to return to the Worlds stage.
However, this is where JDG’s problems begin. During their double-elimination performances, it was obvious that JDG’s solo lanes were simply outclassed by the other top-four teams. JDG will need Kanavi to remain at the top of his game, if they want to make a return appearance in the top-four.
5 – LNG
After mentioning one of the positive surprises of spring, LNG was one of the negative ones. A team that many had as a top three team, failed to even make it to the double-elimination bracket of the playoffs. Their roster remains the same.
However, one of the main reasons why LNG looked much weaker was they were playing Lvmao instead of Iwandy. With many saying that Iwandy will be the starting support, LNG should have a more consistent bot lane, where their best performing player in spring also plays. Should Light continue to perform at the highest level possible, with Iwandy’s return, LNG should be back in form to contest the top of the table.
4 – Victory Five
The team that definitely caught people off-guard in spring was Victory Five. While many were saying that they would be playoff team, no was expecting them to make it all the way to the top 3.
That being said, defending that spot will be more easy said then done. For starters, Rookie did return to Korea for his mid-year break, so he will miss the first few matches. This is a massive blow to the team, seeing as Rookie was their best and most consistent player. And secondly, all of their players overperformed compared to their expectations coming into 2022. It will take another split of massive performances for V5 to end back-to-back splits as a top four team in the LPL.
 3 – Bilibili Gaming
On of the teams that did make a change for the summer, BLG brought Bin in from RNG. Shortly after winning MSI, it was announced that Bin and Breathe were swapping teams. This change alone makes BLG a much more deadly team.
Often times, during these swaps, one team ends up with a better bargain than the other. However, in this case, it is possible that both teams won. Bin often times wasn’t on the same page as the rest of RNG, and often times his over-aggressive laning style would get punished, since RNG didn’t tend to play through topside. However, joining BLG, this will allow Bin to play as he wants. BLG have a very skill-checking style of play, where they tend to win by strength alone. And when it comes to strength in the top lane, Bin is about as good as it gets.
2 – Top Esports
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride seems to be the story of Top Esports’ life. Maintaining their spring roster, other than their sub top laner going to Ultra Prime, Top Esports will want to return to the top two and book their ticket to Worlds.
The problem for Top Esports lies in the support role. During the grand-finals, Mark was clearly outclassed by Ming. And while Zhuo has a much higher skill-ceiling than Mark does, his skill-floor is much, much lower. This creates a problem of who to play, which ends up making things difficult for the rest of the team. However, Top Esports are still one of the strongest teams in the LPL, and should be respected as such.
1 – RNG
And, of course, who else to sit atop the LPL other than the current LPL and MSI champions? When it comes to spring dominance, no one does it quite like RNG does. RNG were the LPL representative at three of the of the last four MSI’s, and won all three.
However, their problem comes during the summer. As of recently, they haven’t been able to win the summer split, or even perform at the level expected of them. In 2018, it was FPX. Last year, it was EDG. This time around, RNG must confirm their favoritism and win the LPL again. With Breathe, a much more team orientated player than Bin joining the team, RNG have the prefect team to win it all this year.
And that concludes the LPL summer split power rankings. Be sure to stayed tuned for the preview of weeks one and two of the LPL Summer Split, coming soon.
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