2019 LPL Spring Standings (set score)

* as of March 3rd, 2019

1.  FunPlus Phoenix 8 - 0 (14- 2) 

2. Topsports Gaming 6 - 2 (13 - 5)

3. Invictus Gaming 6 - 3 (14 - 6) 

4. Royal Never Give Up 5 - 2 (10 - 5)

5. Bilibli Gaming 5 - 2 (10 - 6)

6. EDward Gaming 5 - 3 (11 - 7)

7. JD Gaming 5 -3 (9 - 9)

8. SinoDragon Gaming 4 - 4 (10 - 9)

9. Suning 4 - 5 (10 - 11) 

10. Victory Five 3 - 4 (8 - 9)

11. Team We 3 - 4 (6 - 9)

12. Snake Esports 3 - 6 (8 - 14)

13. Vici Gaming 2 - 5 (8 - 12)

14. Oh My God 2 - 6 (6 - 13)

15. Rogue Warriors 2 - 7 (5 - 15)

16. LGD Gaming 1 - 8 (6- 16)

Another week of the 2019 LPL Spring has passed. Suning lost 2 and slips to 9th place. On the other hand, RNG stacked 2 wins and advanced to 4th place. Vici and OMG advanced 1 ladder each and Sino Dragon defeated TOP and climbed to 8th. Also, FPX still remains undefeated after winning 2 more this week. Let's find out more on Inven Global's week 6 recap for the 2019 LPL Spring. 

FunPlus defeats IGand is still undefeated.

The match of the week...FunPlus went against IG on March 3rd during week 6. With TOP losing against SDG, it was IG's perfect chance to climb up to second place. As expected, the series was quite a competitive one and went all the way to game 3. 

With IG winning game 1 and FPX winning the second game, the match went to one final set. There were some interesting instances such as Lwx's 3 consecutive Kai'Sa picks, Duke subbing in for game 3,  and Doinb building 'Righteous glory + Rylais' on Ryze. However, watching FPX's jungler Tian domination of the Rift was probably the most remarkable thing to watch. This young 18-year old jungler went against the 2018 World champs and yet seemed quite confident. He performed exceptionally throughout the series and carried his team to victory.  

Suning on a 5 match losing streakand falls to 9th place

With their newcomers from the LMS, SwordArt-Maple adjusting well in the LPL, and their former players performing solidly, Suning was undoubtedly one of the best performing teams in the 2019 LPL Spring. 

Up to week 4, they were mostly high up in the standings. However, things started to go south starting from week 5. After winning against Snake on Jan. 27th, they've not won a single series; Suning is on a 5 series losing streak and has fallen to 9th place. This fall might continue since their last loss against OMG was quite a harsh one; OMG came back from a 10k gold deficit to secure game 3 and the series. 

LPL x NIKESo, when can we buy their collab merch?

On Feb. 28th, one of the biggest collaborations in esports history was announced: LPL x NIKE. Although there were some small, exclusive collabs between esports teams and sports brands, this time, one of the biggest sports brand teamed up with an entire 'league'. 

This is quite a big thing not only for the fans but the players themselves - since they will be provided with NIKE-endorsed uniforms and footwear on stage. Moreover, they will be receiving customized physical training programs from NIKE. 

For the fans, NIKE x LPL collaboration clothing will be available for purchase during the 2019 MSI. Following this, the LPL team jersey will also be released in the 2019 Worlds finals. 

Related: NIKE and LPL Join Forces as Official Apparel and Footwear Partners for esports Athletes and Fans in China

Match of the weekSN vs OMG

Although Suning has not been performing well recently, this series against OMG was still expected to be a 2:0 victory for Suning. And, it did seem pretty one-sided with Suning closing down game 1 near the 25-minute mark. 

However, the 15th-place team OMG did not back down. They came from behind in both games 2 and 3 and took down Suning. OMG's performance in game 3 was especially astonishing. With a few kills secured in both the top and mid lane, Suning had a definite advantage in the early game. Before the 20-minute mark, things were devastating for OMG. They lost all their tier 1 turrets plus their tier 2 mid turret. Suning secured the Infernal and Cloud Drake; the gold difference was already on 7k. 

With Suning successfully hunting down the Baron near the 20-minute mark, this game certainly seemed to be over. Soon, OMG lost their mid-top lane inhibitors as well. However, they managed to jump back by winning a teamfight near the 28-minute mark. Although they lost their bottom lane inhibitor, OMG still managed to secure the Baron buff.  

The game went all the way to the 37-minute mark. When Suning was defending their 'tier-1' mid turret, OMG's mid laner icon landed a 3-man W on his Lissandra; this mid lane dive almost led to an Ace. Although SwordArt's Alistar was alive, it was not enough to stop OMG from proceeding to their Nexus. Then, it was game over. OMG came from behind from a 10k deficit and secured a win. 

▲ Onivia League of Legends Highlights (LCS, LCK, LPL, LMS)

MVP of the weekFPX jungler, Tian

Although sophomore LPL jungler Tian is still young, he's been playing with the confidence of a seasoned player in his run in the 2019 LPL. Looking back at their Spring performance, Tian and his teammates definitely deserve an MVP award; however, the spotlight on the jungle role was focused on other players since there are numerous junglers performing very well this Spring such as Ning, Karsa, and Xx. 

Tian finally seems to be receiving some significant recognition for his plays. During their series against IG, FunPlus managed to successfully suppress Rookie's carry abilities with Tian constantly supporting Doinb in the mid lane. More notably, he was going against Ning, probably the best-performing jungler in the 2019 LPL Spring. Using Olaf and Jarvan, he dominated the Rift and led his team to victory. 

Fun fact: Tian's jungle proximity is 26.7% focused on the mid lane which is currently the second most in the LPL Spring. This might be the reason for Doinb's exceptional performance, and moreover, the reason for FunPlus' successful 2019; the mid-jungle is so much important in this current meta.

Image source: LPL Twitter / Nike

Special thanks to EsportsFocus for support.