The final few days of the LPL Spring Split are heating up.
It has been a hell of a season so far in the LPL Spring Split with the likes of Victory Five making a hail mary run to the top of the leaderboards with just eight days of games to go. Not far behind, both Royal Never Give Up and Weibo Gaming sit in second and third respectively. It has been a scrappy fight for the top 10 spots this year and with only seven slots remaining, nine other teams will be battling it out for qualification. The likes of JD Gaming, EDward Gaming (Worlds 2021 winners), LNG Esports, and Top Esports all level on points while Rare Atom, Bilibili Gaming, FunPlus Phoenix, Oh My God, and Anyone's Legend are all within reach of making it.
With just eight days to go in the spring split, one of the teams to look out for in the final stretch will be JD, having won their last four games with real conviction especially since it included LNG and V5. They only have two more games remaining on their calendar, which are against Rare Atom and Weibo. If it all goes according to plan, they will put themselves in contention for a second-place seed with RNG as well as Weibo in the running. It all comes down to what happens in Weibo's game against Invictus Gaming while RNG still has to play Ultra Prime and OMG. Of course, there are already five teams that have qualified for the playoffs, it just depends on where they end up.
V5 have been the top team of late and are on course to finish top of the group stage and head straight to the semifinal where they will have the added advantage of being in a double-elimination bracket. This gives them a lifeline to probably mount a comeback if things go awry. With their two games remaining against FPX and AL, many are expecting them to take this all the way. However, it must be said that both teams are currently undefeated for a few games so it will be an interesting last two series.
However, the team have been on top form of late, losing only two series throughout most of the season, which was against Weibo Gaming and JD Gaming. In 12 of their victories, four came in clean 2-0 sweeps with two of those against Mid-Season Invitational 2021 winners RNG as well as the current Summoner's Cup holders, EDG. Ever since its merger, the rebranded V5 has since become an unstoppable force, capable of pulling out victories against tricky opposition.
As the days count down, many possible scenarios could come into play. V5 holds a slim lead over both RNG and Weibo so it will be interesting to see what happens heading into the last few days. If all three teams were to win their last two matches, V5 would be in the clear for the semifinals but it's a lot trickier for the second spot. Because of the games differential rule coming into play with teams who share the same number of matches won, both RNG and Weibo will be looking to not drop any games and hopefully grind out two 2-0 victories. The same can be said for both JD and EDG, both of whom have respectable games differential in terms of the number of 2-0 sweeps they've had.
Speaking of EDG, it has been looking grim for the current world champions. After a strong start in the first few weeks, they have since allowed inconsistency to creep into their game, resulting in key losses against the likes of Weibo, Top Esports, V5, RNG, AL, and even LNG. This has resulted in the team languishing in fifth and fighting in a mid-table scrap to see who makes it to the second and last round of the playoffs.
It is going to be a hectic next few days for the LPL as they look to see who will make it to the playoffs and soon after, represent the region in the upcoming Mid-Season Invitational. While there is still no word on when the playoffs will take place, rest assured that it will be an electrifying time in the coming weeks.
