FunPlus Phoenix kicked off the seventh week of the 2021 LPL Spring Split with a decisive victory over JD Gaming earlier today.
JDG began this League of Legends series by drafting a risky composition with Kayn in the jungle. It didn’t pay off, though, and they didn’t have the slightest chance of making a comeback after losing the lead.
After winning the first game, FPX gained enough confidence to go for a snowballing composition with Doinb’s Nocturne in the mid lane and Beichuan’s Karthus in the jungle. And this strategy was a tremendous success. Nocturne punished every enemy move in the side lanes, helped by Beishuan, who dealt the most damage on his team during the game.
FPX also won the first game by speeding up the pace and getting a lead as early as possible to snowball their way through the enemy Nexus. In the first game, Doinb made decisive plays to get the edge over his opponents, which earned him the MVP title on Kled.
But it was FPX support Crisp who was voted the MVP of the second game. With 80-percent kill participation, he helped his teammates pick up many kills by landing crowd control with Rell. After this performance, there’s no doubt Crisp will face some Rell bans in upcoming LPL games.
Related: Team WE stomp FunPlus Phoenix in Tian’s LPL return
This victory is FPX’s first since the break for the Lunar New Year after they lost four games in a row to Rogue Warriors and Team WE. Although FPX players still displayed solid skills, the team looked particularly shaky in teamfights around objectives in those games, taking only 28 percent of drakes and Barons.
This time, though, FPX turned things around by getting a comfortable lead in both of the early games, which enabled them to get the upper hand in fights for neutral objectives on the Rift.
JDG, on the other hand, didn’t look on point when engaging near those objectives. Top laner Zoom struggled in lane against Nuguri, while his teammates got picked around the Herald several times.
JDG will have a chance to bounce back when they face off against eStar next Friday, March 5, at 3am CT. FPX’s next matchup will see them play Rare Atom on Saturday, March 6 at 3am CT.
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