LPL Summer 2023 is a repeat of LPL Spring 2023

In LPL Spring 2023, two teams dominated the competition and then went on to play in the Grand Final of Mid-Season Invitational. One of them was JD Gaming and the other was Bilibili Gaming. The other Chinese teams weren’t bad, but they simply couldn’t keep up with these two, at least in the playoffs.

During the group stage, EDward Gaming and LNG Esports finished with the exact same record as JDG: 13 W – 3 L. Meanwhile, Bilibili had 10 wins and 6 losses. But when the match format changed from best-of-three to best-of-five, the pecking order changed considerably.

Now, in the Summer Split, we’re starting to see that JDG (10 W – 1 L) and Bilibili (11 W – 1 L) are much stronger than the other competitors. Teams like LNG (7 W – 4 L) and EDG (6 W – 5 L) have descended into mediocrity and no longer seem capable to challenge them.

On that win @JDGaming secures themselves their spot in the 2023 #LPL Summer Playoffs! pic.twitter.com/2Zb2II9kea

— LPL (@lplenglish) July 1, 2023

JDG’s run

JDG started the split with a defeat against Weibo Gaming. This was probably caused by JDG’s lack of training prior to the start of the Summer Split. The MSI 2023 champions relied a bit too much on their previous results and weren’t expecting WBG to play as well as they did.

JDG’s next 10 matches were very impressive. Three of them ended with a 2-1 score. The other seven were dominant victories that showcased not only their versatility but also their ability to make comebacks and their rigor.

Usually, teams win and lose matches in an irregular way because they don’t have a solid system that allows them to predict what the opponent will do in almost every situation. But JDG clearly do have such a system. Otherwise they wouldn’t be so consistent.

Let’s not forget that LPL is one of the strongest leagues in LoL at the moment. Many would argue that it’s the strongest. To beat so many teams without losing once is very difficult.

Bilibili’s run

Bilibili’s only defeat so far in LPL Summer 2023 came against JDG. In effect, JDG proved that they still know how to beat their number one rival and that their only international rivals at the upcoming Worlds 2023 will be the top two teams from South Korea, Gen.G Esports and T1.

In T1’s case, we can’t even be sure at this point that they’ll qualify. They should, because their roster is formidable. But their Summer Split has been difficult so far.

Header: Riot Games