LNG Esports started off its 2021 LPL Spring Split campaign today with a 2-0 victory over Invictus Gaming.
LNG weren’t considered a playoff contender in our power rankings heading into the 2021 League of Legends season. But the signing of former LCK jungler Tarzan may have given LNG fans some hope that the team could perform better than last year.
Invictus Gaming, on the other hand, are still burdened by high expectations due to the legacy of the org and its solo laners, despite having inconsistent results over the last two years. And they didn’t show the best version of themselves in their series against LNG earlier today, which isn’t a good sign for their upcoming matchups. While mid laner Rookie had his moments, top laner TheShy made some crucial mistakes. LNG, meanwhile, made a statement with this series.
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Tarzan showed great timings and rotations in both games while staying true to his aggressive playstyle in the early games with Olaf and Pantheon. But the LNG player who was surprisingly put in the spotlight was AD carry Wang “Light” Guang-Yu.
Light used his comfort pick, Tristana, in both games and had an incredible performance. His team enabled him to snowball in the first game by giving him two kills and two assists at the six-minute mark.
He then unleashed his power and played like an assassin, taking picks without needing the support of his teammates. He was voted as the first game’s MVP after boasting a perfect KDA and 100-percent kill participation. He also proved to have a great synergy with his support, Liao “Iwandy” Ding-Yang, who earned the second game’s MVP title.
Overall, it seems like LNG were determined to play their own style rather than adapt to IG—and it paid off. Tarzan took care of engaging the enemies and his teammates followed instantly. IG, on the other hand, weren’t able to execute their strategies correctly.
LNG’s win was clean but not without hiccups, though. They almost lost the second game and mid laner Xie “icon” Tian-Yu offered several easy kills to IG in some crucial moments.
LNG will try to keep their momentum going when they face off against TT on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 3am CT. IG will have a chance to bounce back when they take on Team WE at 5am CT.
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