LPL 2019 Summer Finals Odds & Preview: FunPlus Phoenix vs Royal Never Give Up

• The LPL Summer Finals takes place on September 6th from the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai
• Both FunPlus Phoenix and Royal Never Give Up have both already qualified for Worlds 2019
• This is the first time that FunPlus Phoenix has appeared in an LPL final

The LPL Summer Split comes to an end on September 6th with an epic clash between FunPlus Phoenix and Royal Never Give Up. Both teams have already locked up spots at Worlds 2019 but they will be competing for the LPL’s number one seed at Worlds.

Odds of Winning the LPL Summer Final

*Odds taken 03/09/19

FPX Avoid Deja Vu

It was almost an all too familiar situation for FunPlus Phoenix. This spring, FPX finished the regular season in first and were favorites to become the spring split champions. Instead of finishing their dominant season on top, everything ended in disappointment as they lost their semifinal match to JD Gaming.

In Summer, FPX was faced with a nearly identical scenario. They found themselves in the semifinals and after losing the first game to BiliBili Gaming, many thought FPX would once again falter in the playoffs. Fuelled by their high-energy mid laner Doinb, FunPlus Phoenix won three straight contests to qualify for their first finals in the LPL.

Over the past year, FPX have taken over the LPL with their breakneck speed and aggression. They’ve dominated all regular season competition with their only blemish being that semifinal loss back in spring. Now this team has the experience of high pressure situations under their belt and they should be able to play at their best and not feel the weight of the big stage.

RNG Finish Strong

Royal Never Give Up have had quite the turnaround in 2019. Led by their AD Carry Uzi, RNG has been a top team in China for the past few years. However, in the 2019 spring season, RNG crashed out of the spring playoffs in fifth. They missed out on MSI, Rift Rivals, and were in a rough spot for making Worlds.

All of a sudden, RNG has bounced back to the form we expect of them and have found themselves in the summer finals. In the semifinals, they had a very tough matchup against Topsports Gaming and the MVP of the summer regular season, Knight9. Uzi proved to be the superior carry as he died only one time in the entire series, including an 11/0/5 KDA in the game four clincher.

RNG just proved that they have what it takes to shutdown an enemy mid laner while still playing around their bot laner. To defeat FPX, they’ll have to replicate that result and slow down Doinb. Once again it’ll be carry versus carry and Uzi has a lot more experience when everything is on the line.

This series has all signs pointing to being very close. It’ll be FPX’s aggressive nature versus RNG’s ability to get Uzi a lead and translate that into late game teamfights. RNG’s experience should allow them to adapt mid series and pick up a couple of wins but FPX should be able to hold on and be crowned LPL champions.

Pick: FunPlus Phoenix (-185), O 4.5 (+155)