The 2021 LPL spring playoff grand final teams are set and FunPlus Phoenix will take on Royal Never Give Up on April 18. FPX took down RNG 3-0 in the fourth round of the playoffs to knock them into the losers bracket as part of FPX’s tear through the rest of the LPL playoffs, starting in Round 2 against Rare Atom. The team took down Rare Atom, JD Gaming, RNG and Edward Gaming to make the finals.
RNG had to battle through Top Esports to make the losers semifinal and went on to take down EDG on April 13 in a tight 3-2 series.
RNG FIGHTS TILL THE END!!! After 5 games, RNG is now your 2021 LPL SPRING FINALIST! #LPL #AllWeFightFor pic.twitter.com/hkiXMkvDfA
— LPL (@lplenglish) April 13, 2021
RNG takes down EDG to qualify for the LPL spring playoff grand finals
RNG started strong in their series against EDG with a 30-minute win in Game 1. They obliterated EDG as Yan “Wei” Yang-Wei, RNG’s jungler, snowballed the early game with Olaf. He earned the game MVP and finished with a 5/1/7 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) scoreline. The rest of the team also put up impressive numbers as RNG secured Dragon Soul and only gave up two towers the entire game.
Game 2 was a similar story as RNG ended the match in 32 minutes. Wei had another great game and went deathless, but his team’s mid and bot laners shined brightest. Chen “GALA” Wei on Kai’sa dealt the most damage in the game (20,228) and won the game MVP. Yuan “Cryin” Cheng-Wei put up a 4/1/7 performance and had some pivotal ultimates in teamfights as Orianna.
EDG mounted a comeback in Game 3 as they took a bloody match. The game turned into a back-and-forth teamfight match as both teams traded objectives, with 31 kills total as both squads secured three Drakes and one Baron each. EDG’s mid and bot laners took the game with great positioning, and both finished with seven kills and assists.
Game 4 was relatively the same and another high-action match. EDG held the lead for most of the game before a lost fight at the Baron pit at 35 minutes. However, the team held on after it lost an inhibitor and Nexus tower. EDG claimed Dragon Soul — and, eventually, Elder Dragon — to close out the 48-minute game.
The final game of the series was the most measured of the bunch with only 27 kills. RNG took the lead at 10 minutes and rolled through EDG to take the series. Despite high damage numbers from the LPL MVP Park “Viper” Do-hyeon (21,448) and EDG top laner Li “Flandre” Xuan-Jun (22,936), the team could not capitalize on its chances.
The last time RNG made LPL finals was back in 2019, when they lost 3-1 to FPX. This series will be a rematch of the league’s two titans as RNG play in their seventh LPL playoff finals.
Already regular season champions, RNG fights for the LPL spring playoff crown in the grand finals against FPX on April 18. The winner will also earn a spot at the Mid-Season Invitational.
