Melany M. July 21, 2020
Big changes are coming for the FunPlus Phoenix roster in week eight of the 2020 LPL Summer Split.
FunPlus Phoenix is not currently having a good time in the LPL. The reigning world champion is on a four-game losing streak that has led to an emergency roster move. FPX has decided to bench top laner Kim "Khan" Dong-ha and to instead start Kim "GimGoon" Han-saem. GimGoon last played for FunPlus Phoenix in the spring playoffs when FPX faced JD Gaming.
FPX is currently standing in 10th place with a record of five victories to six losses and a total of 13 game victories to 15 defeats. With only a 46% game win rate, FunPlus Phoenix is outside of the playoffs. In the LPL, a league with 17 teams, only the top eight sides advances to playoffs.
Why FunPlus Phoenix changing its roster in the LPL?
In the draft, FPX is going mostly for meta champions with the occasional experimentation like Quinn in the top lane and Rumble mid. Jungler Gao "Tian" Tian-Liang is playing mainly Graves and Olaf, so the team is counting on him to carry its games.
Through 2019, FPX’s style was oriented around roams from mid laner Kim "Doinb" Tae-sang as he was constantly visiting the side lanes. The meta has changed and teams can no longer afford the luxury of sacrificing the mid lane. In the LPL, teams are known for being extremely aggressive, with the skirmishing starting at level one.
FPX knows how to fight, but the switch in the meta is affecting how well the team can perform in the laning phase. Khan is having a hard time absorbing the pressure and then going for side pushes in the late game. The bottom lane is struggling without the extra help from Doinb. Tian is responsible for carrying the team, but he’s getting heavily targeted by FPX's opponents.
With only three weeks to go in the regular season, FunPlus needs some wins. The team will look to bounce back in upcoming matches against OMG and Edward Gaming.