JD Gaming crowned LPL 2022 Summer champions
Twitter @lplenglishJD Gaming took down Top Esports in a tense five-game series to crown themselves kings of LPL Summer and stamp their ticket as the LPL’s first seed at Worlds 2022.
The LPL Summer split came to a dramatic finale. In a nail-biting best-of-five series, JD Gaming snatched their second LPL domestic title out from under the nose of Top Esports — locking themselves in as LPL’s first seed at the 2022 World Championship.
Coming into the matchup, there was no real favorite. Both teams had finished the regular season in joint first place with a 14-2 record but with JDG holding the head-to-head advantage, having beaten TES 2-1 in their Summer match.
It wouldn’t be an LPL final without a few small heart attacks for fans of both teams. And this series delivered on its promise of chaos, going all the way to game five. JDG snatched their victory with a cleverly-executed baron call that saw Bai ‘369’ Jia-hao take TES on a wild goose chase across the map while his team looked to end.
Despite 369’s hero play, it was the consistency of mid laner Zeng ‘Yagao’ Qi that earned him the title of Finals MVP.
Heartbreak for Top Esports
When one team rises, another must fall. TES have now been relegated to second seed for the 2022 World Championship. A heroic attempt at a comeback play by AD Carry Yu ‘JackeyLove’ Wen-Bo wasn’t enough to save their fate in game 5, and they could do nothing but watch from their base as JDG destroyed their nexus.
This marked the fourth consecutive regional finals loss for jungler Gao ‘Tian’ Tian-liang. A former World Champion, he’s consistently fallen at the final hurdle in the past two years of his career, only recently returning from a brief hiatus from pro play due to health concerns.
There are still two spots at Worlds for LPL teams to be decided, with the regional qualifiers kicking off on September 2.
Royal Never Give Up will take on 2021 World Champions EDward Gaming for their chance at a spot in the qualifier final, while Victory 5 face off against LNG Esports in the first round of the lower bracket.