In a grueling League of Legends Pro League summer split, each group has split definitively into bottom three and top three teams. The shakeout provides a welcome respite for those who feared a lack of parity and only one or two front-runners leading the league.
The unexpected rise of Invictus Gaming and Newbee have added more spice to the question of which team will qualify for Worlds, making playoffs even more hotly anticipated. Going into the final week of the LPL, a lot remains on the line for all 12 teams, and marquee matches like Team WE vs. EDward Gaming may settle seeding in the playoffs' punishing staggered bracket.
Group A
I May
Series record: 4-11
Highest placement: Fourth
Lowest placement: Sixth
Schedule: Snake Esports
As Coach Kezman said in a press conference following I May's 3-1 victory over QG Reapers, "We don't play well, so we just drag everything out. When you drag it out, your record becomes 50 percent."
I May don't draft strong early game compositions very often, but rather pile on waveclear and hold on for the 50/50 teamfight. That hasn't worked well, but it can still make playoffs if it defeats Snake Esports, Snake lose its other match against Team WE, and DAN Gaming also lose to Invictus Gaming. Given its terrible start, IM's chances are actually quite high. In all likelihood, this final spot will go to the winner of the clash against Snake on Saturday.
DAN Gaming
Series record: 4-11
Highest placement: Fourth
Lowest placement: Sixth
Schedule: Invictus Gaming
The "terror of Lingshi Road" is far less imposing in the second round of intergroup play. DAN haven't won a set since cross-conference began, and the shell on the egg of its Baron rush strategy has cracked beyond repair. These smart upstarts have a worse chance than I May of making playoffs since it not only has to defeat the rising Invictus Gaming, but rely on Snake Esports beating I May and losing to Team WE. Keep Guo "Lies" Haotian off Rumble, no matter how good he says he is on it, and hold on for dear life.
Snake Esports
Series record: 4-11
Highest placement: Fourth
Lowest placement: Sixth
Schedule: Team WE, I May
Curtains could soon hang over the bed of Snake, the team that fired its entire coaching staff early on in the split and started a new uptick with a rookie support player. It plays Team WE in its opening match, but that won't end its run. Both DAN and I May play one set each, which gives Snake an advantage. In addition, it can take I May out on Saturday, even if it loses to WE. As long as DAN lose to Invictus Gaming, Snake claim the final spot with a win over I May, but it can completely control its own fate by winning both its sets this week.
Invictus Gaming
Series record: 8-6
Highest placement: Second
Lowest placement: Third
Schedule: EDward Gaming, DAN Gaming
Each group boasts a massive gap between its top three and bottom three teams. Invictus Gaming have already secured a first round bye, but if it wants to play for second and skip yet another Best of 5, it has to sweep both sets this week against EDward Gaming and DAN Gaming. If that doesn't seem unlikely enough, rejuvenated Team WE can't lose a single game against either Snake Esports or EDward Gaming. Many fans root vehemently to see Song "RooKie" Euijin return to Worlds, and this is the week to show that he and his band of rookies have it in them.
Team WE
Series record: 10-4
Highest placement: First
Lowest placement: Third
Schedule: Snake Esports, EDward Gaming
If I May vs. Snake will most likely determine the final spot from Group A, one would hope the highlight match between WE and EDward Gaming will decide the team at the top. Snake, even with its improvements, feel like a softball pitch to set up WE. Unfortunately, even if WE win its match against Snake and beat EDward Gaming later in the week, if EDG win against Invictus Gaming, its individual win differential will be so large that WE won't be able to catch up. If iG can overwhelm EDG's top side, WE have a chance, but Saturday's games may not matter for EDward Gaming outside a bid for pride.
EDward Gaming
Series record: 11-3
Highest placement: First
Lowest placement: Second
Schedule: Invictus Gaming, Team WE
EDward Gaming certainly have the most difficult final week, but all the better if it wants to prove it's the best team in the league. The new addition of AD carry Hu "iBoy" Xianzhao has given EDward Gaming more teamfight power, but attempts to snowball too hard early and ganking the wrong lane has held it back. EDG may look for revenge against WE from their earlier clash, but a win over Invictus Gaming secures it a semifinal bye. The rising iG team won't be a pushover, but if Lee "Scout" Yechan prioritizes keeping his lane pushed into Rookie, EDward Gaming will be able to watch the majority of playoffs unfold before it has to lift a finger off the mouse.
Group B
JD Gaming
Series record: 5-9
Highest placement: Fourth
Lowest placement: Sixth
Schedule: Oh My God, Suning Gaming
After mid laner Kim "Doinb" Taesang openly cried on stage at the conclusion of the team's first split victory over Snake, it's hard not to root for Jing Dong. The e-commerce company's first run sponsoring an LPL team hasn't yielded impressive results, but JD have finally found a stride with AD carry Lee "LokeN" Dongwook and jungler Chang "xinyi" Ping. It's fixed some of its lane swap-related problems, and Jing Dong have bested every top or mid tier team since its turnaround. To find a spot in playoffs, JD need to win against Suning. Then either LGD cannot win a single match in its series against OMG and Royal Never Give Up or JD must also win against OMG. With OMG still relying a lot on the stability of its bottom lane, it's not impossible for JD to unsettle it with a few Teleports from Kan "Kabe" Ho Man -- just unlikely.
Suning Gaming
Series record: 6-9
Highest placement: Fourth
Lowest placement: Sixth
Schedule: JD Gaming
For Suning's first run in the LPL, last place in Group B seems like a likely finish with only one set to play. Yet LGD Gaming have one of the toughest schedules for the last week, and JD's opponent outside Suning is OMG. It's not hard to imagine Suning defeating JD, and its competition for fourth all dropping the rest of their series. Suning should commit to a roster for the set, focus on getting a good mid matchup in its set against JD, and not count itself out.
LGD Gaming
Series record: 6-8
Highest placement: Fourth
Lowest placement: Sixth
Schedule: Royal Never Give Up, Oh My God
With the addition of Yu "Cool" Jiajun, LGD Gaming had an optimistic start. Cool seemed motivated to play with his new team, and LGD debuted creative strategies like a Nunu support composition that gave it control of dragon. LGD seem too prone to giving up leads accrued on its carries, however, and have often lost games in fantastically long, drawn out fights. With its schedule pitting it against the top teams of the group, things look bleak.
Newbee
Series record: 9-6
Highest placement: First
Lowest placement: Third
Schedule: Royal Never Give Up
Newbee don't play until the very last set of the week, meaning that, in all likelihood, its set against Royal Never Give Up won't impact playoff seeding. To get first, Newbee have lost enough single games that both OMG can only win one single game, and Royal Never Give Up cannot win any. Newbee can at least batten down the hatch on Royal Never Give Up and leverage the finishing blow, but with both OMG and RNG facing bottom half teams in three other sets total, Newbee should get comfortable on the third rung.
Oh My God
Series record: 9-5
Highest placement: First
Lowest placement: Third
Schedule: JD Gaming, LGD Gaming
OMG have the benefit of the head-to-head record over Royal Never Give Up, despite the latter team currently sitting above it in standings. As RNG face Newbee to close the week, OMG also have a theoretically easier schedule. If OMG win a series and RNG lose out, or RNG win only one series, and OMG win both, OMG have a very good chance of taking first. With RNG boasting some of the best carries in the league and fixing its synergy issues across lanes, however, Oh My God may have to hope Newbee have something better to show than excuses about sensual pleasures.
Royal Never Give Up
Series record: 10-4
Highest placement: First
Lowest placement: Third
Schedule: LGD Gaming, Newbee Gaming
Though RNG started the split swapping out Jian "Uzi" Zihao and playing poorly around jungler Liu "Mlxg" Shiyu, giving both players time off seems to have helped pull it back together. The current RNG looks a lot more like the one that ran through the spring split after the Lunar New Year break, but with mid laner Li "xiaohu" Yuanhao performing even better than before. He may even challenge Rookie for the title of best mid laner in the league. Conditions look optimal for RNG to close out the split with a semifinal bye, but Newbee and LGD are some of the best opponents for bringing out unexpected picks and fantastic outplays to knock a rising team down.