Chinese League of Legends Scene Set For Explosive Finals
By Zac Cameron ·
We're down to the semi-finals in the LPL, and the four teams remaining are set for some very exciting games.
We’ve seen the results from other regions, with Team Liquid winning the NA LCS, Fnatic taking the crown in the EU LCS, and more recently Kingzone DragonX claiming the ultimate prize in the LCK. We’re almost at the stage where we will see which of the teams from the LPL will be competing for a place alongside their peers at the Mid-Season Invitational in the coming months. Let’s take a look at the remaining teams of the LPL, and how we got to this stage.
Royal Never Give Up
While the name might have changed over the years, the spirit of RNG has been a mainstay in competitive League of Legends for a very long time. The team has sported some very big names over its organisational history, with players like Jang "Looper" Hyeong-seok, Cho "Mata" Se-hyeong, Choi "inSec" In-seok, and the contender to the title of World’s best AD Carry, Jian "Uzi" Zi-Hao. Led by Uzi even now, RNG have had to battle their way past teams such as World Elite and Snake Esports to earn a spot in the semi-finals. Should RNG prove successful this split, Uzi will finally be able to challenge other high calibre AD Carries such as Yiliang "Peter" "Doublelift" Peng, Martin "Rekkles" Larsson, and Kim "PraY" Jong-in at MSI for the ultimate in bragging rights.
Invictus Gaming
Another LPL team that has been around for a very long time, iG has a very storied past involving opportunities to advance to the world stage that fall just short of the line. Looking to turn their fortunes around, iG has put together a roster that is bursting with talent both domestic and imported. Unfortunately for the team, their regular starting top laner Kang "TheShy" Seung-lok was forced to step back from active play due to a hand injury. While his replacement is no slouch, being Lee "Duke" Ho-seong who is himself a former World Champion with SK Telecom T1 from 2016, the lack of team cohesion may play a factor in their upcoming match with RNG, if only because they have to reacquaint themselves with his play style.
EDward Gaming
Yet another storied LPL team with plenty of international experience, EDG have the backing as being the only team other than SK Telecom T1 to have won at MSI. With another roster full of extremely popular players, EDG looks to repeat their previous success on the international stage, if they can get through their domestic opponents first. With players such as Ming "Clearlove" Kai and Hu "iBoy" Xian-Zhao on the team, they stand an excellent chance of advancing, if only because of their popularity and mechanical skill.
Rogue Warriors
A very new team that was only formed at the end of 2017, ROG has some huge hurdles to overcome if they want to make a splash in their inaugural season. That said, they did earn their place in the semi-finals, finishing second in the LPL East Region behind iG, and have some excellent players such as top laner Chen "Mouse" Yu-Hao and AD Carry Han "Smlz" Jin. ROG look to set up their own fairy tale story by taking on the established teams and potentially earning their place at MSI, if they can just get through EDG first.
The semi-finals series of the LPL are set to be played this coming weekend, and you can find out the exact time in your area on the Official Schedule page, here. For more League of Legends action, check out the match recap for the finals of the LCK, between Kingzone DragonX and the Afreeca Freecs, here.