After their loss against NIP, JDG’s fate is in the hands of AL: who will win between them and TES to face LNG in the next round of the LPL summer playoffs?
Image Credit: @AnyonesLegend
TES vs AL – LPL Summer Playoffs Preview
AL has been the special surprise of the LPL summer split. Blessed by former BLG head coach Tabe’s influence, the team has been able to improve heavily compared to the previous split despite not having a stacked lineup. They beat FPX last time out in convincing fashion and will now face TES to see whether they have what it takes to fight for the title.
Top Esports, on the other hand, have to keep up their form and lock their place at Worlds 2024. They looked strong for the most part of the split, despite some hiccups, but the team has one of the highest potential among all LPL teams when they show up. With that in mind, let’s quickly look the key elements of this series.
Series Breakdown
For AL, the key of their lineup for me has been jungler Croco. The Korean player has been able to play according to the meta and take up a carry role that for many can be hard to adjust to, especially in pro play. Ale’s addition to the lineup has also raised the team’s potential by a large margin given his ability to play both carry as well as utility when needed.
While he would fare fine against most matchups, he is going against the first all-pro jungler Tian, who has been without a doubt the best player in the role. I doubt he can have the same level of impact from the previous series.
But aside from the jungle matchup, Top Esports looks much stronger in their mid and bot side. JackeyLove will likely pressure Hope and Creme should be able to get the upper hand over Shanks. The only matchup where I see AL succeed is the top lane but I doubt 369 will allow Ale to get much advantage in a losing matchup.
Overall, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a dominating win from TES. They have been arguably the second-best team for the majority of the season and despite higher volatility compared to other top teams, their peak gameplay can be terrifying for the opponents. Getting a win from AL would already be surprising enough: a win from them would be close to NIP’s upset against JDG. Speaking of JDG, their hopes are now on TES as their Worlds chances are still alive.
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