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If you are new to esports and any time of esports fantasy, it can feel really overwhelming to begin learning about the different players and leagues. Luckily for you, Fantasy Alarm has you covered by bringing me on board to guide you through one of the most dominant leagues, the LPL. The LPL (LoL Pro League) is the Chinese professional league and has sent some of the strongest teams in League of Legends to Riot´s World Championships. The titans of the competition like OMG (Oh My God), EDward Gaming, and RNG (Royal Never Give Up) have stood against top teams from South Korea, Europe , and Taiwan (sorry North American fans, just not there yet). There is a rich history to the LPL and it can take a while to unpack. With this in mind, I have decided to create a series of articles to catch you up to speed, outline what to expect from each of the teams, and get you acquainted with the stars that will come in the clutch for you this season.
For this chapter of the anthology, I want to focus on the history of the league and how the stars of the league helped define League of Legends. While playing daily fantasy leagues can be fun by checking Drakt Kings and seeing you rack in the money but there is nothing like watching the matches and buying into the storylines. What makes fantasy football so great? Getting to know the players, investing into new rivalries, and learning to hate all new players that wouldn normally interact with your favorite team. If you are planning on playing DFS on the LPL this year, I want to help you buy into the teams, players, and storylines.
The LPL has had two World Champions in back to back years (2018-2019) with Invictus Gaming and FunPlus Gaming being the champions in those respective years. They have also had three runners up (Royal Club-2013, Star Horn Royal Club-2014, and Suning-2020) and a slew of 3rd and 4th place finishers (OMG-2014, Royal Never Give Up-2017, Team WE-2017, Invictus Gaming-2019, and Top Esports-2020). In fact, the LPL is the second most decorated region behind the LCK.
With players like TheShy, Nuguri, and JackeyLove the LPL have been a constant threat in competitive League of Legends. The league is defined by aggressive play and innovative strategies to capitalize on the individual skill of their players. Some of the most creative and bold team compositions (which champions are selected to play in certain roles) have come from this region. Early invades into the enemy jungles, massive 5v5 fights that stretch for minutes, and games dominated by individual skill are common place for this league and should be even more of a reason for you to watch and play DFS on this league.
The Teams
Enough of the pageantry in this article, let’s break down the teams you are going to be watching all season. Who should you watch out for? Who are the threats? Let’s dive in and take a look at the organizations who will be looking to capture an LPL title this year.
Bilibili Gaming: Bilibili Gaming (BLG) started their LPL journey by purchasing the spot from former organization “I May” in the 2018 Spring Split. Over the course of their three seasons of competition they have tread water as a middle of the pack team. Their first split they finished in 3rd place (11-8 overall in the LPL 2018 Spring Split) but since then has only peaked at 4th in 2019 Summer split and 2019 Summer Playoffs. The player to watch on this squad, and hopefully the spark they need to become an upper echelon team, is Aiming. Aiming is a top tier ADC who has played for teams like ROX Tigers and KT Rolster in the LCK. In fact, during his stint with KT Rolster Aiming had one of the highest KDAs amongst all ADCs in the region. In the mid lane I would keep my eyes open for Zeka as well. On Vici Gaming last season he had a respectable 6.43 KDA in Summer split where the team finished 8-8. I expect both to be huge carries if they can get on the same page as quickly as possible.
EDward Gaming: EDward Gaming (EDG) are one of the most storied franchises in League of Legends history. One of the strongest and earliest teams, you could easily make the comparison to them being like the Green Bay Packers of the esport (I recognize my bias here). For the whole of 2014, there were only 5 out of 16 tournaments that they did NOT win first. Of those five where they were not champions, they took second in three of them. As of late? They have been middle of the pack at best ending tenth in the LPL 2020 Summer Split. The team has overhauled the roster and moved their legendary jungler Clearlove to the head coaching position. With this overhaul has come with an oversaturation on their roster. Currently they have three top laners, three junglers, two mid laners, and two ADCs. This makes me worried about them settling on a solid lineup, but let's see where they end up.
eStar: eStar (ES) has been consistently a lower tier team throughout its existence. Only in the LPL last year, they placed 5th and then 7-8th respectively in both splits. With a lot of different shifts in their line up, it looks like they have finally settled on a final 5. Of the estar lineup, I think the two players to watch for are H4cker (jungler) and ShiauC (support). Both players have a depth of experience with H4cher playing for organizations like Suning and OMG and ShiauC finding success with FlashWolves. The real question mark will be who will start in the mid lane. I think Insulator has a higher ceiling, but Irma has been in the organization longer.
FunPlus Phoenix: What an interesting organization FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) is. After finishing 1st in the 2019 World Championships, they have only reached regional mediocrity since then. They ended the Summer Split in 8th place and missed out on going to the World Championships in 2020 to defend their title. With the departure of Khan (top) and HarHorse (Head Coach) I expect a shift in identity this season. With Dionb in the mid lane to continue to be the rock, FPX looked to expand their skill players by picking up Nuguri (top) from the 2020 World Champion Damwon Gaming. FPX will not have another down season, and I have high expectations for a big move back to form.
Invictus Gaming: Invictus Gaming (IG) is yet another pillar of the LPL who has defined what Chinese League of Legends looks like. With legacy players like Kid (ADC), Rookie (Mid), and illuSioN (jungle) this lineup has some big shoes to fill. After winning the LPL Spring Split at 14-2, they ended up failing to qualify for the World Championships after falling to LGD in the 2020 Regional Finals. With the departure of superstar Duke in the Top lane, they have put all of their eggs into the TheShy (top) basket for the future. I think this is fine since he is one of the top performing top laners in LPL history, the decision will be under a microscope. I also have high expectations out of Rookie (mid laner) who is a core member of this organization. With his highest placement in the international championship being 3rd/4th, look for him and IG to push to cross the finish line this year.
JD Gaming: JD Gaming (JDG) is in an interesting spot moving into the beginning of the season. There has been some movement for one of the top teams in the LPL. In 2020, they finished both splits in second place and lost to the eventual runner-up in Suning in the knockout stages at the World Championships. There are still some questions about the jungler contract with Kanavi, but the core of this team is with LokeN and his consistency at the ADC position. Even with solid performances out of their mid laner Yagao, JDG did pick up former LGD mid laner in xiye so it will be interesting to see how that competition plays out. JDG should be a lock for top four in the league, but it will be a push to make it back to the World Championships in 2021.
LGD Gaming: I think LGD Gaming (LGD) are a very interesting look at a team and organization who go through dramatic hot and cold spells. LGD is a core organization in Chinese League of Legends. They have found themselves in a wide range of tournaments including the most recent Demacia Cup and the 2020 World Championships. And throughout the majority of the tournaments they participate in, they fall under the category of a “tough out” or a “formidable opponent” but continue to fail in their goal of being a true world powerhouse. With players like imp (ADC), Flame (top), and Peanut (jungle), they have always had the reputation of being mechanically skilled but strategically flawed. They can frequently get out drafted, out rotated in game, and out thought when approaching matchups. Coming into 2021, LGD have dramatically overhauled their roster. They kept their main carry in Kramer (ADC) and brought in talent like Tiwanese mid laner Uniboy from ahq eSports Club. LGD can easily sneak into the World Championships again, but I don’t expect them to be a top 3 team for most of the season.
LNG Esports: LNG Esports (LNG) are a rebrand from the previous Snake Esports in 2019. In their two years as an organization in the LPL, LNG has accomplished little other than staying out of relegation. Their lack of success really stemmed from not having the same firepower as the rest of the league. This year they do have the skills of Tarzan (jungle) to be put on display. Tarzan is a top tier jungler getting his roots from the LCK by playing with Griffin. They also picked up the long time OMG mid laner icon. They are pairing them with the returning bot lane of Light and Iwandy. I don’t think they crack the top 5 in the league, but look out for LNG to be somewhere between 6-10.
Oh My God: In 2012 the Chinese organization Oh My God (OMG) started their first League of Legends team. In their earliest years of competition they were some of the best in the world with a best top 4 finish in the 2014 World Championship. In recent memory, they have left a lot to be desired with high expectations and low success. This is understandable when you once had the best ADC to ever play the game (Uzi) at one point to finishing 14th in your regional competition. There are some changes from the roster last year including the pickup of AKi (jungler) and New (top lane) who both provide a lot of experience from other big organizations like Top Esports and Royal Never Give Up. I think they will bounce back this season but not enough to make it back to the World Championships.
Rouge Warriors: Rouge Warriors (RW) have been a kind of flash in the pan type of team. In late 2018, this team with players like Doinb, Mouse, and Smitz looked like one of the most dominant teams in the world barely missing a berth to the World Championships after losing to EDG in the 2018 Regional Finals. From Spring 2019 on, they have been lackluster at best. Their best showing was at the Chinese tournament, National Electronic Sports Tournament in 2020 where they lost to Vici Gaming 2-0. Going into this split they have the talents of players like Haro (jungle) and Betty (ADC) who both had stand out performances in the 2020 Demacia Cup. The real determining factor for this team is how does the mid laner Forge performs. During the 2020 Summer Split he had a 1.96 KDA while playing for Vici Gaming but had a 8.28 KDA In the past Demacia Cup. This team could be a team a lot of people could be sleeping on going into the Spring Split.
RNG: Royal Never Give Up (RNG) may have had the most dominant hold over their region through 2017 and 2018 that any team may have had ever. In reality, they had a real shot at the World Championship in 2017 (they fell to SK Telecom T1 2-3 and they actually had beaten the tournament champions Samsung Galaxy 2-0 in groups). They have had players like Uzi (ADC), Karsa (Jungle), and Xiaohu (mid) who have defined their aggressive style and proactive play. In recent years they have been mediocre but in fairness, the gap in talent between their roster and others have all but disappeared. In the middle of 2020, RNG made a power move to pick up GALA (ADC) who brought a much needed spark to the organization. While they still finished 9th, I think the experience was something was something for the team to build off of. There are still a lot of questions with this organization with players like Xiaohu (Top/Mid) and Wei (Jungle) and how they will fit into the larger vision for the team. My expectations for this team would be to find themselves again between 6th and 10th.
Suning: What was seen as a surprise top three placement in 2020, Suning (SUN) showed exactly what they could do in the World Championships in October. They dispatched the second seed of China (JDG) and then the first seed (TES) in the knockout stage to make it to the Grand Finals to lose 1-3 to Damwon Gaming. Suning shook up the stereotype of the assumption of LPL teams having constant and blind aggression and showed the world a delicate balance of macro play and full 5v5 team fighting when needed. Coming into the Spring Split, SUN may look different after their coaching stagg and all star support SwordArt leave the organization. That being said, They have all star talent of Bin (top), SofM (jungle), and huanfeng (ADC) filling out their roster. This is no doubt a top 5 roster, but I will wait to see how some of the shifts have a lasting impact on their performance.
Team WE: Team World Elite (TWE) are the best example of League of Legends fans having short term memory. In 2017, they placed 3rd/4th at the World Championships, but in recent years they have been a middle of the pack organization. While they did put together a solid run in the most recent Demacia Cup (2nd place), most teams fielded rosters that were mainly substitutes. TWE did have some roster moves at the end of last season including their top laner Morgan and their coach Noex. With three different mid laners listed to the roster, I think the main person you should be looking to for stable points on this roster is Jiumeng (ADC). He had a 4.19 KDA in the Spring Split and a 4.21 KDA in the Summer Split. Both of these are pretty impressive seeing how much TWE struggled against top tier teams in a meta for the game that didn’t suit him (the champs he performs best on were not who were strongest and not who he was put on regularly. People should also be getting excited for Breathe (top) and how he will fit into this team. With question marks in the mid lane, he could realistically be put on more of the aggressive champions we saw from him during the Demacia cup where he had a 4.11 KDA.
Top Esports: Top Esports (TES) is what the world has come to expect from LPL League of Legends. The craziest part of that fact? They have only been an organization for one year (though they did buy out Topsports Gaming who had previously operated in the LPL for two seasons). QiuQiu (support) has moved on to RW, but the core of the team with 369 (top), Karsa (jungle), knight (mid laner), and JackeyLove (ADC) are all the same. Fresh off of winning the Demacia Cup in convincing fashion, look for TES to finish top two this year and make a run at the World Championship in 2021.
ThunderTalk Gaming: The gap between the actual name (ThunderTalk Gaming) and what the organization is going by (TT) is massive. Why not go by ThunderTalk? Nevertheless, TT is Dominus Esports rebranded and reconfigured with much of the Dominus roster being moved around. With this in mind, there are a lot of questions about what the regular starting five will be. The confirmed starters are Chelizi (top laner), Samd (ADC), and Teeen (support) but the jungler and mid laner are still unsettled with three options in each of those roles to choose from. Twila is returning (from the previous Dominus roster) but Captain and Sky both bring experience in the mid lane role as well. My expectation is for this to most likely be a bottom three team with the amount of time it will most likely need to take time to work out a solid 5 man roster.
Vici Gaming: Vici Gaming (VG) may be one of the better LPL teams in tournaments that don’t mean that much. In tournaments like the Demacia Cup, NEST, and NESO, VG consistently place top four. In the LPL, they normally float around 7th-9th. I don’t really see this organization changing all too much. In terms of fantasy play, they can put up decent numbers, even against the toughest competition but they are just not good enough to hang with the bigger competition. They just picked up Tiwanese mid laner FoFo who is a flashier player, but coming from the former LMS, he has not performed at the same level in the LPL. The organization also has brought in iBoy (ADC) who has some success in the LPL with EDGE in 2017/2018 but hasn’t been able to get to the same level since. This team I think could easily fall to the very bottom portion of the league and struggle to make any impact in the postseason.
Victory Five: In terms of teams who usually just get beat up by the competition, Victory Five (V5) have lived through that in recent memory. This is highlighted most by their abysmal 0-16 record in the LPL 2020 Spring Split. They did have a small bounce back with their Summer SPlit going 11-5 and ending 5th but still not being able to make that jump to the next level. The success they found though could be traced back to them getting 3 players from Suning and Suning’s academy team on loan. Luckily for them, they are keeping former Suning player Weiwei (mid) who, outside of the Summer 2020 playoffs, had a KDA consistently over a 3 last year. I also think an engaging storyline will be what the team does in the top lane with both Langx and Aliez competing for the starting role. Langx has seen more play but was not featured for LGD in the 2020 World Championship run while Aliez has bounced between the starting job and academy role for both V5 and OMG. I could see this team getting hot again and be in the top half of the league, if they can settle on a strong starting five.
Players to Watch Out For
Top: Bin (SUN), Cube (VG), Nuguri (FPX)
Jungle: Karsa (TES), Tarzan (LNG), Wei (RNG)
Mid: Weiwei (V5), Doinb (FPX), knight (TES),
ADC: JackeyLove (TES), iBoy (VG), LokeN (JDG)
Support: Crisp (FPX), LvMao (JDG), QuiQui (RW)
Cann’s Pre-Season Spring Split Power Rankings
1. Top Esports
2. FunPlus Phoenix
3. Suning
4. JD Gaming
5. RNG
6. LGD
7. LNG Esports
8. Rogue Warriors
9. Team World Elite
10. Vici Gaming
11. Victory Five
12. EDward Gaming
13. Invictus Gaming
14. Oh My God
15. Bilibili Gaming
16. TT
17. eStar