The Chinese League Is Getting Exciting – LPL Spring 2021 Week 9 Preview

Over the last several weeks, LPL Spring 2021 has turned into a bloody battle for supremacy with no less than 4 competitors being separated by just one victory. Royal Never Give Up is leading the pack with 11 wins and 2 losses but 3 other teams are right behind them, with 10 wins and 3 losses.

LPL Spring 2021 Current Standings

Even though they had a slow start, many of the league’s favorites are now in a good position and will almost certainly qualify for the Playoffs Stage of LPL Spring 2021. Even Suning, whose 8^th place record of 7 wins – 6 losses is rather disappointing for a team that finished 2^nd at Worlds 2020, has recovered sufficiently to almost guarantee itself a ticket for phase 2 of this split. The only condition is that they don’t lose all of their last 3 matches while Invictus Gaming or Bilibili Gaming win more than one.

RNG is sitting at the top of the rankings table with 11 wins and 2 losses, but they shouldn’t get too comfortable because EDward Gaming, Rare Atom, and Team WE are right behind them. Even FunPlus Phoenix could overpass them in a worst-case scenario, because they too have 10 wins (paired with 4 losses though, instead of 3). Another team that looks dangerous is Top Esports. They currently have a score of 9 wins and 3 losses, so a victory in their next match (which is pretty much guaranteed given the opponent) would put them in 2^nd place next to EDG, Atom, and WE. The final two competitive weeks look very exciting because of these close scores.

Week 9 Preview

Week 9 of LPL Spring 2021 is scheduled to take place between March 15^th – 21^st and will feature 12 matches. The most important of them are the following:

LGD Gaming vs. Rare Atom

Rare Atom is currently ranked 2^nd with 10 wins and 3 losses while LGD is sitting at position 13 with 3 wins and 8 losses. Based on these results, it’s going to be very easy for Atom to win this match. So far, their only 3 losses came against serious teams, so it’s unlikely that they will all of a sudden start losing against opponents that are sitting near the bottom of the league.

Victory Five vs. Top Esports

Overall, Top Esports was China’s strongest team last season. So I don’t expect them to struggle here. A quick 2 – 0 result in their favor is the most likely outcome of this match.

Team WE vs. Bilibili Gaming

Judging by Team WE’s exceptional results up until this point, this should be another clean match. Perhaps Bilibili can win one game, but winning a Bo3 is next to impossible against this opponent.

EDward Gaming vs. eStar Gaming

EDward Gaming should not even be required to play this match. That’s how big the skill difference is. And the results clearly illustrate that: 10 W – 3 L versus 2 W – 12 L.

JD Gaming vs. LNG Esports

A victory here would give JDG a real chance of finishing in the top 4. But it’s not going to be easy, even though this team had great results last season while LNG finished LPL Spring 2020 in 16^th place and LPL Summer 2020 in 13^th place. By contrast, JDG finished those two tournaments in 1^st and 2^nd place respectively.

Victory Five vs. FunPlus Phoenix

Victory Five is almost certainly going to lose this match. Their current record is 5 W – 8 L while their opponent’s is 10 W – 4 L. On top of that, FPX is the champion of Worlds 2019.

RNG vs. Top Esports

This is going to be the big derby of the 9^th week of LPL Spring 2021. As the leader of LPL Spring 2021, RNG is expected to win. But an upset is extremely likely here. My prediction is that Top Esports is going to win.

JD Gaming vs. LGD Gaming

Given LGD’s current form, JD Gaming should have an easy match. And if they win their first match of the week as well, that will put them very close to the top of the standings table.

LNG Esports vs. Suning

This is another important match because both of these teams have the same score right now: 7 W – 6 L. Suning is ranked 8^th while LNG is ranked 9^th. The loser of this match will be at serious risk of not qualifying for the Playoffs.

 

Photo credit: Riot Games