Flandre saves the day on Malphite in EDG’s hard-fought win over FPX

EDward Gaming took down FunPlus Phoenix today in two close games in week five of the 2022 LPL Spring Split.

EDG drafted a teamfight-heavy composition with the rising Hecarim pick to help mitigate FPX’s mid to late-game scaling damage. So if EDG were going to win game one, it needed to be done in the early game. The first play of the game started at five minutes when Scout was caught overextended and pathed toward Jiejie’s Hecarim. 

It looked like FPX top laner Xiaolaohu would find a kill onto Jiejie, but a timely roam from EDG support Meiko saved the play and EDG gained two kills for one. But FPX soon traded that kill back onto Meiko when they ganked the bottom lane. 

That resulted in Jiejie prioritizing the top half of the map, where he helped Flandre find a kill onto Xiaolaohu. FPX jungler Clid attempted to stop the early game map pressure Jiejie had, but Meiko’s Leona was everywhere and the jungle-support duo ran rampant on the top side of the Rift.

Throughout the mid game, FPX built their win condition around AD carry Lwx while EDG had theirs centered on a mid-game finish. If EDG could close the game out before the late-game scaling of Jinx kicked in, they’d be set. Otherwise, Lwx’s Jinx would be able to mitigate EDG’s teamfight with the resources to keep Jinx safe.

At 28 minutes, Xaiolaohu attempted to stall out EDG by running through their jungle while Lwx and Hang tried to grab mid-priority and the tower. But Scout found an important Orianna ultimate onto the two and EDG killed FPX’s main win condition. EDG used this to grab the Baron and push for the end 32 minutes in.

Game two began with FPX banning Jiejie’s Hecarim and the two teams swapping champion picks to start the draft. This time, EDG drafted a composition built around AD carry Viper to carry the game with damage assistance from Scout.

The two battled evenly and the first seven minutes were filled with multiple skirmishes across the map, which began with Flandre’s Malphite finding a solo kill onto Xiaolaohu’s Jayce. Shortly after, a fight around the dragon pit broke out that resulted in a slight 500 gold lead and the first dragon going to FPX.

Immediately after, the squads fought for Rift Herald. EDG killed Clid and grabbed the Rift Herald and the first tower of the game in the mid lane. The teams took a short breather before a mechanic-heavy teamfight broke out in EDG’s blue side jungle at the 12-minute mark. Lwx flashed deep into EDG territory to kill Meiko before he was traded. 

EDG began to win the fight after killing Hang and brought Gori down to low health. Gori looked like he was set to be the third kill for EDG in the skirmish, but his healing on Sylas kept him alive long enough for Clid to return. They then killed the two remaining EDG members with slivers of health to their name.

There were a total of 16 kills in this game before the 15-minute mark. The skirmish-heavy showdown transitioned into the mid game, where FPX grabbed the Rift Herald while EDG took a mid turret. The continued skirmishes didn’t stop in the mid game, though. Fights broke out in the top and bot lanes, which both resulted in the game staying the exact same. 

As long as there was an objective to fight over, both teams were going to use their strengths to try and find an advantage through teamfights. At 20 minutes, the game was dead even and just 500 gold separated the two teams.

Eventually, EDG found a kill on Clid, which allowed them to gain priority on the Baron. But with four members, FPX continued to poke EDG out. As the Baron started to get low, Gori stole Flandre’s Malphite ultimate, knocked up three EDG members, and scrounged three kills from EDG’s initial Baron power play. But as they were about to grab the Baron, Flandre saved the day and stole the objective from FPX.

After a crafty dragon steal from FPX, they began to run down the bottom lane while EDG pushed through mid. FPX continued to show great macro and map understanding, using their Trundle to find tower gold to stave off EDG’s blood-hungry carries.

When the second Baron spawned at 28 minutes, a five-vs-five play broke out where EDG found the first kill onto Gori. It looked like this would be the teamfight where Viper’s Jinx would shine, but Xiaolaohu sniped the late-game carry with his Jayce. Thus, EDG lost their primary source of damage and had to forfeit the Baron to FPX.

A dragon was the next available objective on the Rift. The two sides postured for control of the pit, but it was Flandre who had the game-winning play after he used his Malphite ultimate to knock up multiple FPX members. EDG then burst down Hang and grabbed the Ocean soul.

FPX’s strong macro play and bottom lane slow push forced EDG to go back and defend their inhibitor towers, however. FPX then pathed toward the third Baron of the game. But just as they were about to take the objective, Jiejie pulled off the heist and stole the Baron from FPX’s grasp.

With the Baron and their inhibitors respawned, EDG regained control of the map and they began to push into FPX’s base for the first time. One final teamfight broke out where FPX killed EDG’s Viper, but Flandre’s Malphite was the hero once again. He found a knock-up that led to the deaths of the entirety of FPX, finally ending the chaotic game and the series. 

Even though they lost 2-0, FPX continue to show resilience and fight against the top LPL teams. But they drop down to 4-4 in the first half of the 2022 LPL Spring Split. Meanwhile, this win keeps EDG in third place with a 6-1 record.

The fifth week is over for FPX, who will look to recalibrate for their super week in week six. EDG will play their final match of week five against the surging Invictus Gaming on Feb. 20.