Competitive League of Legends play is back with the launch of the 2022 LPL Spring Split. OMG began the action earlier today with a strong victory over ThunderTalk Gaming and FunPlus Phoenix followed that up by defeating Royal Never Give Up 2-1.

RNG and FPX made some mistakes during the series, but they also displayed qualities that could make them solid contenders in the LPL Spring Split. RNG, for example, showed impressive coordination during the early game.

Jungler Wei targeted one lane to harass with his Xin Zhao, which he picked in all three games, and executed ambitious dives that gave an advantage to his laners. His performance earned him an MVP award in the second game. RNG, however, started to falter during the mid game, where FPX shined the most instead.

FPX displayed efficient communication and macro management after shaky early games, sometimes enabling them to turn the tide of the match. They secured drakes and Barons even when behind due to fast reactions and clever engages.

That’s what happened in the third game, where new FPX mid laner Gori was largely behind due to relentless ganks from RNG. The team as a whole started to falter after losing crucial teamfights, but they successfully put pressure on the map and punished all of RNG’s missteps to gain a numerical advantage and secure objectives.

This focus on objectives helped FPX win the first game, in which they secured a Baron at the 20-minute mark. It also allowed them to gain the gold advantage back in the second game thanks to a Baron steal with a bounty followed by the destruction of the outer mid lane tower, which had a bounty attached to it as well.

This second game showed the massive potential of objective bounties, which were introduced to League during the 2022 preseason. In FPX’s case, both bounties offered them nearly 1,000 additional gold when they were 3,500 gold behind RNG. It wasn’t enough to help FPX win this one, though. RNG’s poke composition and efficient execution proved to be stronger, locking FPX out of their own jungle.

While RNG’s players displayed strong mechanics and laning phases, including Xiaohu, who recently switched back from the top to mid lane, FPX’s bot lane showed promise. In the first game, Lwx’s Jinx and Hang’s Thresh maintained a farm advantage even though they were harassed by RNG’s jungler in the early game and played a crucial role in the team’s victory, especially during teamfights. Lwx was named the MVP of this game with 43.3 percent of the team’s damage dealt, a perfect KDA, and 83.3 percent kill participation.

FPX (1-0) and RNG (0-1) will step back onto the LPL stage once again on Friday, Jan. 14 to face off against LGD and JDG, respectively. Meanwhile, the LPL will resume tomorrow at 3am CT with JD Gaming going against EDward Gaming, followed by LDG taking on Anyone’s Legend, formerly known as Rogue Warriors.

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