With just two weeks left to go in the League of Legends Pro League, the East and West Regions seem to have flipped fortunes after what felt like a fairly straightforward week. Despite the East looking a bit murky after Week 8, the region is all but settled with all four playoff teams locked in already. In the West, however, only two spots have been secured, with three teams in the running for the final two spots. One thing that hasn't changed, though, is Invictus Gaming and Rogue Warriors dominating their respective regions for yet another week.
LGD Gaming (7-10), Bilibili Gaming (5-11), and Vici Gaming (1-16) have all been eliminated from playoff contention after each team failed to pick up any wins this week. The most important dagger came when LGD went 0-2 on the week, including a key loss against Suning Gaming (9-7) to seal its fate. Vici joined LGD by going 0-2 this week and will simply be looking to try and end the split with more than just one win at this point. Bilibili is currently on a three-game skid that has seen it fall right out of the playoff conversation.
Near the top of the table in the East, though, things haven't changed. Invictus (16-1) held serve with a pair of 2-0 sweeps over OMG (5-13) and Vici to hold onto its No. 1 seed. JD Gaming (13-3) and Royal Never Give Up (13-5) each played just a single game this week and emerged victorious. In the final two weeks, JDG's fate is in its own hands as it just needs to win two of its final three games to lock up the second seed, with the first seed still in the cards in the event Invictus loses its final two games.
Moving into the West, the playoff picture is a bit more complicated. Only four things are certain at this point when it comes to the playoff picture of this region: Rogue Warriors (13-3) and EDward Gaming (9-8) are playoff bound, while OMG and Team WE (4-13) have been eliminated from playoff contention. Rogue had additionally secured a semifinals bye and can simply coast to the finish line in the final two weeks. Everything else, though, is up for grabs.
Snake Esports (7-8) might have only won a single game in its last four tries but it has done just enough to keep the playoff hunt alive going into the final two weeks. That one win came against OMG in a 2-1 series to close out Week 9 and served to not only keep its own playoff hopes alive but dashed the hopes of OMG by eliminating the team from playoff contention. Snake has four games left to go, including three crucial games against Rogue Warriors, EDG and Topsports (8-9).
Slotted right above Snake is Topsports and FunPlus Phoenix (7-10), as both teams had a bit of a muddled week that allowed Snake to stay in the running. While FunPlus went 1-1, including a 2-0 sweep of Snake, Topsports was swept in its only outing against Rogue Warriors this week. With subpar results afoot for these teams, the final two weeks are now set up to be a close finish as all three of these teams sit within a game of each other with just two playoff spots up for grabs.
Heading into Week 10, all eyes will be on the matchup between Topsports and Snake on Saturday, as it holds plenty of playoff implications on its own. Elsewhere, JDG play twice, against Invictus and LGD, with a chance to lock up that No. 2 seed if it can take both games. Week 10 will kick off with Bilibili Gaming taking on Suning Gaming at 7 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
--Wyatt Donigan