LPL: The Most Important Week in the Battle for First Place

This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

Image captured from ESLTV LoL Twitch Stream of IEM Shenzhen Finals.

It's been two splits in a row since OMG hasn't dominated. This week, they're in critical danger of falling below first place and never returning to the top. There's a lot at stake, with World Elite playing three sets and Edward Gaming struggling to shrug off the loss to WE at Intel Extreme Masters Shenzhen. The big question is which of these three teams is the best in LPL, and who will end the week in first place?

Team headline images from lol.tga VOD intros.

By sheer quantity of games played, World Elite should end the weekend in first place. While Edward Gaming plays two sets and OMG plays one, WE has a rescheduled match against OMG to make up this week. As a result, they play every day.

More isn't necessarily always better. World Elite's opponents this week include OMG and StarHorn Royal Club, who they split 1-1 against in Round One. Their third opponent is Young Glory, and even that set might not be the cakewalk the team might imagine, given that OMG dropped a game to YG two weeks ago, and SHRC struggled to close both games against them last weekend.

WE's EDGE

The key to World Elite's success so far this split has been the individual talent in their bottom and top lanes. The old guard of WE has proven they're worthy of the fame and glory they receive. With Conan roaming frequently, WeiXiao has proven himself the most self-sufficient AD carry in the league, and that allows him to excel on champions like Corki. Meanwhile, CaoMei's teleport usage and sense for split-pushing is a rare find in LPL, and it has caught many opponents off guard.

All other photos captured from games and videos on TGA's LPL website.

Ninja in the mid lane has proven himself more versatile than initially anticipated, and he can provide strong Jayce and Xerath play in addition to the Lulu he has brought to the forefront. It very well may still be possible to ban him out if a team decides to go that route. Sin is also a strong source of support for WE, as he can accelerate a game a great deal more than some of LPL's other junglers. More importantly, his frequent ganks mean that WE controls the pace of the laning phase, allowing WeiXiao to farm for an extended period of time.

WE falls short in communication and late game closing. Against LGD Gaming three weeks ago, WE exhibited a nearly unheard of decisiveness, and both WeiXiao and Ninja found pentakills in that set. Yet they reverted back to their hesitation in their games against Edward Gaming in subsequent weeks. The second LPL game against Edward Gaming should have ended much sooner than it did, but WE's shot-calling foundered and could have easily lost them the game. Much of WE's wins are off the backs of strong players performing well in extended laning phases—something that has been a hallmark of WE since their hay day. They'll lose games against opponents who can bring a high level of map pressure and punish them in objectives battles.

Edward Gaming plays two sets this week: one against Invictus Gaming, and another against Young Glory. If their head-to-head record with these teams is any indication, EDG should pick up at least four points this week. Since Invictus Gaming has only ever won a single game against EDG, it isn't too bold to say that EDG could well sweep their entire weekend, making it necessary for WE to 2-0 at least two of their sets to stay ahead.

More importantly, EDG is shaking off a hit to their confidence when they lost 2-1 to their biggest rivals, World Elite. Their disappointment was difficult to ignore at the end of the tournament, and ants, the manager of Koro1's old team, RisingStar, even posted lengthy words of encouragement on weibo after the event. Koro1 simply replied that "we are ok," but EDG's results this week will be more telling than words.

Edward's Game

EDG's play has developed extensively since last split, but their style hasn't. At their core, Edward Gaming is very much a Chinese team. They focus on designing the best compositions for team fights and strive to dominate their lanes, forcing gold onto NaMei, the AD carry, and forcing fights to close the game. Last split, they had much longer games where they fell behind early and managed to come back with the perfect fight. This split, steeper and faster competition like World Elite has proven that that's no longer always a possibility.

The team's performance hinges upon Clearlove's play. July 25th is his birthday, so it's possible that he'll be wishing for success against Invictus Gaming. Two weeks ago, another 2-0 against them would be assured, but the last two weeks, Zzitai has proven himself a much more capable captain and shot-caller than was originally expected. IG picked solid compositions and reacted well when Baron became a possibility. Traditionally, Baron plays have been the source of EDG's success. Against this new iG, they'll want to end games much more quickly.

Young Glory should be less of a problem. When they've picked up an early lead, they've left many holes through which their opponents can climb. EDG's team fighting will make Ziggs a must-ban because if YG lets them stall, they'll lose.

Despite being part of the three-way tie, OMG might as well be out of contention to finish the split in first. They have played one more set than EDG and WE, and they've dropped an extra game to EDG and iG in the second round than in the first. This means, to stay relevant in the race for first place, OMG will have to win more games against the last remaining top team they have to face: World Elite.

The last time WE faced OMG, they split 1-1, and the game OMG won was a 68 minute game, the longest in LPL all season. WE predictably struggled to close, allowing OMG to sneak in. OMG has a lot of lost points to recoup after two weekends in a row with a substitute support player, and they'll want to find more holes in WE's play to do it.

OMG's Rock Paper Scissors

OMG has been experimenting with strategy and toeing the line between innovation and brilliance for quite some time. LPL hasn't seen a show of Twisted Fate play so brilliant since the days Misaya roamed the rift. Both Cool and Drug have been struggling to return to form, but their performances are still at the core of the team's successes. When both of these players are on point, OMG barely lets the opposition get an inch. Even when OMG used zero bans against iG last week, they managed to crush through the game—only to lose the next game in the set because Drug opted to build Feral Flare and drop the ball on lane pressure.

San has also been struggling, but this is understandable. While WeiXiao is the most self-sufficient AD carry in LPL, san is probably the least. He is heavily reliant upon his team to first find him a free farm lane so he can get over the hump that is his weaker laning phase, and then create fight opportunities for him. If these things are in place, he can be one of the most devastating team fight AD carries in LPL. If not—it's hard to erase the memories of his Blue Ezreal in Week 5.

OMG is a team that's very reliant on trust between its players. San needs a reliable support player, which could well be Cloud if he remains and the roster, and when Cool runs Twisted Fate, he needs Gogoing's teleports to be on point. This high level of synergy inherent in the way OMG plays the game could be WE's undoing. While EDG's members are more on point in team fights, having played together all season, OMG's sense of team movement over the map leaves WE nowhere to hide if they make mistakes and forego opportunities to close the game.

The Verdict (Standings updates can be found here)

All told, World Elite should end this week in first place, simply because they play more games than either Edward Gaming or OMG. That said, it's very likely that none of these teams are the best team in China. WE's early pressure is something Edward Gaming struggles against, and EDG's ability to team fight just that little bit better than OMG makes it hard for OMG to shore up their weaknesses.

Yet by this same token, it's possible that OMG's synergy and coordination across the map, as well as Cool's strength relative to Ninja's in an extended laning situation, will allow them to 2-0 WE this weekend and keep them in the running. Given that OMG failed to 2-0 WE in their previous encounter, this is more possible in theory than in practice.

It isn't necessarily impossible for OMG to end the split in first place if they fail to 2-0 WE. If WE and EDG find more 1-1 splits in Round 2 against teams like StarHorn Royal Club, LGD Gaming, and Yong Glory, OMG could make up the difference. WE's performance against SHRC this weekend will give a good indication of OMG's chances, should they fail to 2-0 WE on Friday.

The LPL action starts this weekend, July 25th, at 1:00am PDT. Be sure to check back at onGamers for updates.