Bilibili Gaming have won their first series of the 2022 LPL Summer Split after taking down Ultra Prime 2-1 today.
After finishing the 2022 LPL Spring Split in 12th place, Ultra Prime have looked revitalized in the summer with the recent addition of former JD Gaming and TOP Esports top laner Zoom. Last week, Ultra Prime’s new top laner dominated in their 2-0 series win against OMG to set themselves up as a possible playoff contender for the summer. Yet the same could be said for Bilibili Gaming, who also revitalized its lineup by acquiring MSI 2022 champion Bin from Royal Never Give Up. While Bilibili Gaming’s first series against LNG Esports last week did not end in victory, the team showed a lot of potential in that match.
In a battle between two world-class top laners, both teams sought out a victory in their second series of the 2022 LPL Summer Split.Â
In the first game, Bilibili Gaming jungler Weiwei was the star throughout the early game, dominating the map on Graves. His early-game pressure mitigated any early advantages that Ultra Prime jungler H4cker would have on Lee Sin, which made him irrelevant in the mid to late game. Throughout the entire 30-minute game, Ultra Prime did not hold a gold lead once. Bilibili Gaming built off of Weiwei’s dominance to go up 1-0 in the series.
In game two, H4cker picked Lee Sin once again, only this time, he answered back with a strong performance. Up against Weiwei’s Viego, H4cker dominated the early game with Lee Sin. He used the champion’s strong early game to help both Cryin and Zoom dominate the early laning phase. With two winning lanes, Ultra Prime won all the necessary teamfights to close out game two in 31 minutes.
The final game of the series was a battle between Ultra Prime mid laner Cryin and Bilibili Gaming mid laner Fofo, where the nod slightly went in favor of Fofo early on. Still, both mid laners battled back and forth throughout the first 10 minutes of the game. But things fell apart for Ultra Prime shortly after the game transitioned from the early to mid game.
While Cryin’s Emperor’s Divides were solid, the teamfight damage just wasn’t there for the rest of the suqad. Bilibili Gaming walked away from each team fight with low health bars, but no casualties. This resulted in a lopsided game past the 25-minute mark as the gold discrepancy between Ultra Prime and Bilibili Gaming continued to expand. With four dragons and 18 kills at the 30-minute mark, Bilibili Gaming broke open the base before securing their first win of the 2022 LPL Summer Split at the 33-minute mark. Bilibili Gaming ADC Doggo most notably produced an 11/1/12 scoreline on Aphelios in game three.
Bilibili Gaming’s first win of the 2022 LPL Summer Split has improved their record to 1-1 on the split after successfully staving off the dark horse Ultra Prime lineup. While Bin struggled in the early game throughout the series, both Fofo and Doggo took on the pressure to carry Bilibili Gaming throughout the series. Their next challenge will be against Anyone’s Legend on Sunday, June 19.
As for Ultra Prime, while today ultimately resulted in a loss, it was a promising performance from the 12th-place Spring Split team. Zoom looked well adjusted to his new environment while mid laner Cryin continues to shine on Ultra Prime in 2022. With time to grow as a five-man team, they will look to bounce back in week three, where they will take on the solo laner dominant Rare Atom lineup. That matchup will take place on Monday, June 20.
