Top Esports’ knight tops LPL Summer kill chart despite shaky split

William Davis Published 08/08/2021

The regular season of the 2021 LPL Summer Split has concluded and Top Esports mid laner Zhuo “knight” Ding stood at the top of the kill chart. 

In just 38 games this split, knight has racked up a whopping 221 kills. This is by far the most of any player in the LPL despite Top Esports not even playing the most games this split. With well over 200 kills this split, knight ends the split with a total of 34 kills more than FunPlus Phoenix mid laner Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang, who came in second place with 187 kills. 

Not only has knight done well in the kills department this split, but he has also been topping the damage per the minute chart with 560. This is the highest damage per minute of any mid laner in the league. To top this all off, knight scored the 200th win of his career in the final series of the LPL Summer Split by defeating Team WE.  

Statistics like these clearly show how big of an impact knight has had this split, even though Top Esports as a whole hasn’t been playing especially well. After being a force in 2020 and reaching the 2020 World Championship semifinals, Top Esports has not been up to par in 2021. 

In the spring, Top Esports ended up in fourth place after a defeat at the hands of Royal Never Give Up in the playoffs. During the summer split, Top Esports has continued to show inconsistency and has never been able to compete for a top spot in the LPL. This has left Top Esports with a 10-6 record, which was enough to secure the fifth seed in the playoffs. 

Looking at the standings, it’s quite surprising that knight managed to get this many kills. It clearly indicates how knight has the driving force for Top Esports’ success this split, which has also been seen with tough losses when he isn’t in top form. Historically, Top Esports has been very solid as a unit and has almost looked unbeatable at its best. 

This split, Top Esports has relied a lot more on individual performances and has been lacking in the teamwork department. This shows in the team’s results, as Top Esports is a serious underdog in the LPL Summer Playoffs. FPX and EDward Gaming looking very strong in most aspects of the game and are positioned as the favorites for the tournament. 

Regardless, knight will be the player to keep an eye on from Top Esports moving forward. If the young mid laner gets rolling, then there’s nothing that can stop him from carrying his team to victory. knight and Top Esports will be back on Summoner’s Rift on Saturday, August 14, where they will face the winner of LNG Esports and Suning.  

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