Top Esports wins 2020 LPL Summer Split final in five wild games

Top Esports has won its first LPL trophy after defeating JD Gaming in an intense final that went the full five games. 

It was a rematch between Top Esports and JD Gaming that would see the summer split victors and the LPL first seed for the 2020 World Championship decided. The two teams also met each other in the spring finals, where JD Gaming came out on top after another tight five-game series. 

This latest series brought us lots of kills, close team fights, and some crazy level one action. Right from the first minutes of play, the two teams were ready to fight and give it all they had. After those first two minutes, seven kills were already on the board with plenty more to come. 

Even though the two teams played close early, it was Top Esports who took the lead after game one. This was followed up by a JD Gaming victory.

It was made clear early that Top Esports was the team to engage the most aggressive plays, but JDG managed to shut a lot of it down and therefore take the series to a game-five decider. 

It was hard to predict who would come out on top in game five as both teams had shown great play throughout the first four games. It was JDG who managed to get ahead in the early game, as they quickly went up with five kills to none, but Top Esports would not go down without a fight. 

The real win condition for Top Esports was their dragon control, as they managed to get an early Cloud Soul that kept them in the game. The kills and gold were still heavily in favor of JDG until Zhuo “Knight” Ding proved why he is the summer split MVP and is widely considered to be the best player in the world. With an impressive Syndra stun, he secured the team multiple kills and the Elder Dragon, which was enough to turn the game on its head. 

Knight leads Top Esports to its first LPL title

While Top Esports has been a prominent team in the LPL for several splits, this is the first time they manage to win a trophy. They have been close a few times, especially in the 2020 LPL Spring Split, where JDG took the trophy from right in front of their noses. 

The title also secured for Top Esports the first seed at Worlds from the LPL, which will grant them a great advantage whenever the group draw takes place. The team is already considered the big favorite to win the Summoner’s Cup based on the team’s individual skills and the fact that LPL is considered to be the most competitive league in the world. 

Knight also cements himself as the best mid laner and perhaps the best player in the world. He is still young at the age of 20, but has already shown how high his skill ceiling is. 

Top Esports will play its next games at the 2020 World Championship group stage, which starts on October 3.