The 2022 League of Legends Pro League summer season is well underway, with games happening every day of the week. For fans that don’t have time to watch all the action but want to know what is going on, we at Upcomer are here to provide a daily recap of each day’s games. Here is what happened today in the 2022 LPL summer season.
WBG beat BLG
Both of these teams were expected to be better than their records suggest, but in Week 5 of the 2022 LPL summer split, a win here would help each team start to match expectations.
Game 1 saw both teams prioritize different things. While BLG were quick to start stacking Dragons for their eventual Dragon Soul win condition, WBG managed to pull ahead with the gold lead in hopes of never letting WBG get their fourth Dragon. The plan seemed to work throughout the game, with WBG coming out on top in pressure and team fights; but with BLG jumping on a scattered WBG team, BLG were able to take back control with a Baron and eventually the Ocean Dragon Soul which then allowed them to win the final team fight and take Game 1.
Style of Me! 😲 #LPL #CrazyIsOurGame pic.twitter.com/V2VGFSznjJ
— LPL (@lplenglish) July 9, 2022
Game 2 saw WBG again get out to a gold lead, but this one was a little more than their Game 1 lead. With the team up 10-2 in kills and 10k gold at the 24-minute mark, the game was inevitably going to go to WBG. However, credit goes to BLG for being able to capitalize on the sloppiness of WBG with an ace to cut the gold lead almost in half. But with Kang “TheShy” Seung-lok playing Kayle, the win condition for WBG was simply time. Once Kayle hit level 16, BLG could do nothing to stop TheShy and WBG. 33 minutes in WBG took down the base to force a Game 3.
Chase and dive, hook and fight, all the way to the base! #LPL #CrazyIsOurGame pic.twitter.com/ONvxJYWQMR
— LPL (@lplenglish) July 9, 2022
The champion spice came out in Game 3, with WBG drafting the famous Kalista Blitzcrank duo. The pick worked perfectly in the early game as just 2 minutes into the game, the duo picked up first blood. The rest of the game was a fun one, with team fights going back and forth between the two teams. Despite BLG doing their best to keep up, WBG still managed to keep a significant gold lead. 28 minutes in, WBG brute-forced their way into the base to take the series 2-1.
TES take down RNG
Early game kings, Tian and knight keep the chase going til the last man! #LPL pic.twitter.com/7N2qGXy3Tv
— LPL (@lplenglish) July 9, 2022
The marquee matchup of the week pitted two of the LPL’s best against each other. Top Esports and Royal Never Give Up came into this match with just a single loss on their respective records. TES, as the team with momentum, with their six series win streak continued their hot start at the beginning of Game 1 as a couple of early kills turned into a gold lead that just continued to climb. TES ran away with game 1 as they had a 12k gold lead at the 20-minute mark. 25 minutes in TES struck down the enemy nexus with a 23-2 victory in the kill department.
Jumping across the fight? Wei and Xiaohu will jump anywhere to get the fight going! #LPL pic.twitter.com/EjMIEKg7b7
— LPL (@lplenglish) July 9, 2022
RNG decided to be the aggressors in Game 2 as their proactive gameplay allowed them to secure the early gold lead. But unlike TES in Game 1, RNG couldn’t pull away, at least not as quickly. RNG did have a 3k gold lead around the 20-minute mark, only using what they had to bring them confidence in team fights. 22 minutes in, another team fight win allowed RNG to take Baron, but at the cost of TES being on soul point. The fight for the next dragon would be the game-deciding one, as RNG once again showed their team fighting prowess and were able to clean up TES to push the series to Game 3.
Kick the Gnar and steal the baron! Just Wei things!!! #LPL pic.twitter.com/F4rVpRCsAx
— LPL (@lplenglish) July 9, 2022
Game 3 was an LPL classic as both teams looked evenly matched. With that said, despite the gold being near even 25 minutes into the game, TES were marching towards their win condition with the team on Mountain Soul Point. As the team looked toward Baron to give them the advantage, they needed to secure the game off of the duo of Baron and Dragon Soul; it was RNG’s jungler Yan “Wei” Yang-Wei that saved the game for RNG with a critical Baron steal. However, it was only temporary; in the very next fight for the Mountain Dragon Soul, RNG couldn’t stop TES from securing it and with the Soul buff, TES had no problem winning the team fight and were able to immediately march down the mid lane, picking up the nexus and improving their win streak to seven straight series.
What’s Next
The 2022 LPL summer season marches on with two more games scheduled for Sunday, July 10. ThunderTalk Gaming take on Invictus Gaming to start off the day, but Week 5 ends with the arguable matchup of the week as the defending world champions Edward Gaming go up against the current first-seed Victory Five. Games start at 5 a.m ET live on the LPL Twitch channel.
