Victory Five vs LNG: LPL Regional Finals 2022 Picks and Predictions

The LPL Summer is nearly at an end, but there is still plenty to play for. China has a total of four spots available for the Worlds 2022, which is scheduled to begin later in September. The top two seeds are already confirmed, JD Gaming and Top Esports.

The Regionals will decide the fate of the last two teams, one to qualify directly for the Main Event, the other for Play-ins. RNG and Edward Gaming, reigning World champions, will play each other and the winner will seed through to the main event. The lower round sees Victory Five and LNG Esports squaring off, the winner progressing to the next round.

There they will battle the loser of the match between RNG and Edward Gaming for the last remaining Worlds seed, the play-ins. The LoL odds favour Victory Five, and let’s take a look at why.

Predictions: Victory Five to win

Odds: 1.69

Betting Site: Odds provided by GG.Bet

When: Saturday, September 03 – 11:00 CEST

Victory Five

V5 had an impressive summer split, finishing third seed and having lost just three of the series in the round robin. They had bright hopes for their playoffs, but unfortunately it all came crashing down at the hands of just one opponent. After seeding into round three on account of their third place finish, V5 were knocked unceremoniously out of the playoffs 2-3 by the resurgent LNG Gaming.

Considering LNG had won only 50% of their games in the regular season and ended at seventh seed, practically no one expected them to get as far as they did. Instead they went from the bottom round one all the way to round four, where they were finally put in their place by JD Gaming and Edward Gaming. V5, whose playoffs they’d wrecked with just one game, could do nothing but watch bitterly from the sidelines.

The stakes are high, and this clash will certainly carry a theme of revenge. Ever since the start of the summer, V5 were among the favourites to win the title and they knew it. They won their first nine series in a row, going unbeaten for nearly five weeks and were top seed for the first half of the split. A couple more losses to Weibo Gaming and JD Gaming in the final few weeks of the split saw them slide down to number three.

After putting in the hard work and consistency for nearly two months, to have their title dream snatched away by seed number seven, no less, was nothing short of brutal. That series went down to match number five and it was close, but LNG had a better tower and inhibitor count and were able to secure a better lead.

V5 will desire payback almost as much as the coveted Worlds spot, and the LoL predictions indicate they’ll get there on account of how they’ve simply been the better team all season.

LNG

LNG stunned everyone with their campaign in the playoffs. They have never really been much of a force at the LPL. Though their results have improved over the course of the past couple years, they have always continued to give off strong middle-of-the-pack vibes. It didn’t seem like this summer would be different.

They won and lost exactly eight games in the round robin, ending at seventh seed. LNG had to start at the bottom, at round one against tenth seed ⁠Bilibili Gaming. It wasn’t a difficult contest, and they were able to coast through to the next round 3-1.

Weibo Gaming presented more of a challenge, and had already beaten LNG convincingly in their last game of the regular season. But LNG stunned them too with a 3-1 victory. LNG would then face V5, tournament favourites for the majority of the season, in the third round. The series went down to the final game and LNG caused a major upset, knocking out the split’s form team and marching on towards the final.

Their dream run in the campaign was finally brought to a close by JD, who knocked them 3-0 down to the lower bracket in the fourth round. There they faced another sobering defeat at the hands of Edward Gaming, and were eliminated for good after losing 3-1. The League of Legends betting market favours V5, but considering the run LNG have had in the playoffs, don’t write them off just yet.