On Monday, the LPL 2020 season was officially opened by the former and current World Champions.
The match-up was awaited by the Eastern community since the schedule was announced, and the teams did not disappoint.
Good start!
Our first series of LPL2020 Spring kick off an exciting victory(2:1) against FPX with the arrival of our new botlane Southwind and Puff!
Many thanks for everyone’s support! #invictusgaming pic.twitter.com/9WggjazwY3
— Invictus Gaming (@invgaming) January 13, 2020
Both teams went through some roster changes, Invictus Gaming picked up Puff/Southwind for their bottom lane, while Fun Plus Phoenix picked up former T1 top laner, Khan. The series was a joy to watch, and both teams showed a great display of skill.
Game 1
Winner: Invictus Gaming
MVP: TheShy
| IG | 28-29-75 | vs | 29-28-78 | FPX |
| TheShy aatrox 3 | 11-06-13 | TOP | 07-04-16 | 4 ornn Khan |
| Southwind braum 2 | 02-05-21 | SUP | 01-05-18 | 3 leona Crisp |
| Rookie rumble 2 | 07-08-13 | MID | 08-05-14 | 2 ryze Doinb |
| Puff senna 3 | 08-03-17 | BOT | 09-05-12 | 1 miss fortune Lwx |
| Ning qiyana 1 | 0-7-11 | JNG | 04-09-18 | 1 jarvan iv Tian |
* (the number before/after champion indicates pick order)
Game overview:
Both teams played great early and were trading objectives left and right, a tower for the dragon, herald for a dragon, a kill in the top lane for a dive/kill in the bottom lane. While the jungler of Invictus Gaming did not shine this game, especially if you look at his KDA, he did pressure the FPX squad and forced good team fights to allow Invictus Gaming to capture objectives uncontested.
FPX still managed to capture four dragons and get the Infernal Dragon Soul, but the raw damage was not enough to shut down the Invictus Gaming squad, who was flanking FPX and forcing good fights. In the end, Invictus Gaming finished the game before Fun Plus Phoenix was able to capture the Elder Dragon, which could’ve turned the tides around.
Game 2
Winner: Fun Plus Phoenix
MVP: Khan
| IG | 11-19-20 | vs | 19-11-27 | FPX |
| TheShy aatrox 3 | 01-06-04 | TOP | 06-02-06 | 4 fiora Khan |
| Ning qiyana 1 | 03-04-03 | JNG | 03-04-08 | 1 jarvan iv Tian |
| Rookie orianna 3 | 02-02-05 | MID | 09-03-02 | 2 mordekaiser Doinb |
| Puff varus 2 | 04-04-01 | BOT | 01-01-02 | 1 miss fortune Lwx |
| Southwind braum 2 | 01-03-07 | SUP | 0-1-9 | 3 thresh Crisp |
* (the number before/after champion indicates pick order)
Game overview:
Fun Plus Phoenix played a more controlled game, securing advantage for Doinb’s Mordekaiser. Invictus Gaming gave Ning Qiyana again, but he failed to deliver. Invictus Gaming managed to get only one herald out of all objectives, while Fun Plus Phoenix got four dragons, dragon soul and 1 Elder Dragon, which allowed them to close out of the game quickly.
Game 3
Winner: Invictus Gaming
MVP: TheShy
| IG | 20-09-45 | vs | 9-20-15 | FPX |
| TheShy ornn 3 | 04-03-09 | TOP | 02-04-01 | 1 mordekaiser Khan |
| Leyan qiyana 1 | 06-03-05 | JNG | 01-04-06 | 2 jarvan iv Tian |
| Rookie orianna 3 | 02-02-11 | MID | 02-06-02 | 4 diana Doinb |
| Puff varus 2 | 06-01-07 | BOT | 04-01-02 | 1 miss fortune Lwx |
| Southwind braum 2 | 2-0-13 | SUP | 0-5-4 | 3 leona Crisp |
* (the number before/after champion indicates pick order)
Game overview:
Leyan was subbed in instead of Ning, and Qiyana was first-picked for the third time in the series. Leyan managed to secure an early advantage for his team and snowball his bottom lane by picking up easy kills on the Leona early game. With the early control around bot lane, Invictus Gaming secured first drakes, which allowed them to expand onto their lead and snowball other lanes.
With a controlled and immaculate play, Invictus Gaming closed out the game with no issues.
The series was amazing and hopefully, upcoming matches in the LPL season are as good as this was, it was a joy to see a clash between former and current World Champions.
Stay tuned for more reviews of hyped-up matches over the season.
