Melany M. September 7, 2019
Royal Never Give Up couldn’t find a win versus FunPlus Phoenix in the 2019 LPL Summer finals.
Because of that, the LPL has a new king, as the squad took its first LPL title.
FunPlus takes over the LPL
FunPlus is one of the new faces in the LPL, the team is approaching just its second anniversary and already made it to the 2019 League of Legends World Championship. Since its inception in the LPL in season eight, the organization has been the contender on everyone’s mind. They’ve always been close to the top but his year, the team made it to the finish line and took the title home.
Winning versus RNG used to be considered a major accomplishment, but these days it’s an achievable feat. The team has been solid this year in spite of that, but haven't looked like the dominant ones of recent years.
RNG struggled in spring and slowly picked up the pieces in summer. The team made it all the way to the finals but one could argue that the opponents in the bracket were not the strongest.
Make no mistake, Jian "Uzi" Zi-Hao is still one of the best players in the world. The bottom laner finally recovered from the injuries that kept him out of the stage in 2018. This time, he’s determined to get the title that was stolen from him by Invictus Gaming.
Both FunPlus and RNG qualified to the World Championship as first and second seed, respectively. The squads are in strong form heading to the biggest international event of the year.
The series between these teams did more to show FunPlus’ potential than RNG’s evolution. Despite the 3-1 final score, it wasn’t a stomp. Each game was determined by a narrow margin either on the rift or in the draft. RNG was competitive and pushed FunPlus to the edge, but it wasn’t enough to get the win.
FunPlus’ first international test will come next October when they travel to Europe for Worlds. The organization is young and hungry for a win, and want to establish themselves as the new face of the LPL.
As for RNG, the team gets another chance to prove themselves internationally and get Uzi the World title. So far, the bottom laner has achieved back to back LPL titles, a Mid-Season Invitational title, and two Rift Rivals. There's just one thing missing from his trophy case.
If Uzi and RNG get the title this year, it would be the biggest achievement of his career. Not only because of the title itself, but because this year is set to be the most competitive LoL World Championship in history. The gap between the eastern and western regions is finally closed, with G2 Esports and Team Liquid looking like strong contenders.