Royal Never Give Up’s 2018 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational victory gave legendary AD carry Jian “Uzi” Zi-hao his first international title. The win has also ushered in a new international interest in China’s LoL Pro League.

Is China now the best region in the world? This preview won’t answer that question, but it will introduce you to a host of interesting LPL teams and players in addition to reintroducing beloved names that you may already know. Welcome to the 2018 LPL Summer.

What is the LPL?

The LoL Pro League has been China’s top tier League of Legends league since its inaugural season in 2013 spring, the same time the League of Legends Championship Series launched in North America and Europe. It is the largest LoL professional league in the world with 14 teams separated into two conferences of seven, and also the fastest-growing LoL esports league, with six more teams scheduled to join in the near future.

As a region, China has a reputation for unrestrained aggression, but there are a crop of rising teams in the current LPL, each with their own playstyles. China’s LPL is also unique in myriad ways, beginning with teams’ marketing prowess — where else will you find a team with an entire clothing line dedicated to their dog — and massive fanbases. Even last-place teams like Topsports Gaming and Vici Gaming had dedicated fanchants prior to every LPL match last spring, accompanied by neon cheerfuls and homemade fansigns. The LPL is also the first LoL region to successfully implement georelocation. This spring, three teams (LGD Gaming, Snake Esports, and Oh My God) opened home bases outside of the Shanghai Super Brand Mall, where the majority of LPL matches are played. In the upcoming 2018 LPL Summer split, at least two more teams (Royal Never Give Up and Team WE) will be playing in home bases outside of Shanghai.

East was beast in 2018 LPL Spring

Despite historically strong teams like EDward Gaming and Team WE — both representatives of China at the 2017 League of Legends World Championship — in the West Region, it was the East Region that dominated the standings and cross-conference play this past spring. Although RNG was the team that emerged victorious, it was Invictus Gaming and Rogue Warriors who topped the East Region regular-season standings. After dropping only one series, their first of the split against RNG, iG was the favored team to win the 2018 LPL Spring playoffs until starting top laner Kang “TheShy” Seung-lok injured his hand. iG fell to RNG 2-3 in the semifinals.

Teams with eastern home bases include LGD Gaming in Hangzhou and Royal Never Give Up in Beijing. The other teams in the East Region for the upcoming summer split are Invictus Gaming, BiliBili Gaming, JD Gaming, Suning Gaming, and Vici Gaming.

The eastern favorites: Royal Never Give Up, Invictus Gaming

RNG enter the 2018 LPL Summer riding a high that comes from the 2018 LPL Spring championship, the 2018 MSI championship, and the recent 2018 Summer Demacia Cup championship (which they won without star AD carry Uzi). In addition to this string of victories, RNG will also open their new home base in Beijing on June 17, with the team’s first summer match against JD Gaming.

As a team, RNG not only have a top-tier AD carry in Uzi, but they have a strong understanding of both 1-3-1 splitpushing and 5v5 teamfighting. Unlike iG, RNG will not focus as much on dominating early lanes as they will setting up mid laner Demacia Cup offered a peek at how RNG would adapt to more recent patches, and RNG already seemed at home with substitute AD carry Dai “Able” Zhi-Chun debuting bot-lane Yasuo in a competitive setting. Due to Uzi’s participation in the Asian Games qualifier, look for Able to potentially start in the team’s first match.

This split could also be one of iG’s revenge. Mid laner Song “Rookie” Eui-jin has been at the top of his game since coming to China in 2015, and now has a strong team of talent surrounding him that smashed opponents early throughout 2018 LPL Spring. iG will have to shore up their mid-game understanding of side lanes and teamfighting a bit, but have the ability to create pressure from any lane. They also draft well for the team, focusing on winning or pushing lanes to supplement their laners’ raw talent.

East Region teams to watch: JD Gaming, Suning Gaming, Bilibili Gaming

The e-commerce wars are alive and well in the East Region (JD and Suning are e-commerce companies in China) with JDG and Suning looking for that breakout split to elevate them into true playoff contenders. JDG squeaked by Suning in the East Region standings last split to qualify for the 2018 LPL Spring playoffs, but fell quickly to BLG. For JDG, this is the time to tighten up the team’s understanding of pressure and when to be aggressive. All too often, JDG won due to individual performances, especially from top laner Zhang “Zoom” Xing-Ran, or mid laner Zeng “YaGao” Qi. Suning has similarly talented solo laners in top laner Xie “XiaoAL” Zhen-Ying and mid laner Zhuo “Knight” Ding, but focused more on map movements and macro play. Unfortunately for Suning, the team never seemed to figure out when to be aggressive and when to remain passive, often passing up opportunities to take advantage of their opponents. This could also be a tricky split for Suning if Knight remains in a contract negotiations with the team. Currently he is not on the starting roster, but is still in the Suning gaming house.

Bilibili Gaming also falls into this category. Although Demacia Cup results should, for the most part, be taken with a grain of salt, BLG made it to the finals and looked fairly comfortable on 8.10, although 8.11 offers an entirely new set of meta challenges. BLG can always continue their tradition of shocking upset victories, which has carried over since this roster’s time as I May in 2016 and 2017.

West was not best

Spring was a trying split for LPL staples EDward Gaming and Team WE and both teams’ struggles were jungle-related. WE’s Xiang “Condi” Ren-Jie was out for most of the split with a personal issue, and the team sorely missed his early-game jungle control. They returned to their old habits and drafted all-scaling compositions that often slowly lost them the game. Meanwhile, EDG had an inconsistent start, integrating their rookie jungler Chen “Haro” Wen-Lin onto the team while Ming “Clearlove” Kai sat out most of the split.

While EDG and WE faltered, Snake Esports took control of the West Region for most of the split. Snake had one of the best reads on the meta and developed many of the Unsealed Spellbook compositions that made their way throughout China and South Korea. Although EDG finished first in the regular-season standings, Snake held that position for seven of the ten total weeks.

Teams with western home bases include Oh My God in Chengdu, Snake Esports in Chongqing, and Team WE in Xi’an. Of all teams that relocated in spring, Snake had the strongest home field advantage, with a lengthy regular-season winning streak in their Chongqing stadium, which the English cast fondly dubbed “The Snake Pit.” The other teams in the West Region are EDward Gaming, FunPlus Phoenix, Rogue Warriors, and Topsports Gaming.

The western favorites: EDward Gaming, ???

In the initial meta of 2018 LPL Spring, the double-Relic Shield bottom lane, EDG were able to focus more on the top side of the map. This allowed Haro to develop synergy with new top laner Jeon “Ray” Ji-won. This was much different from the AD carry-focused, mow down the first turret before 10 minutes EDG of splits past. As the meta shifted, Haro’s inexperience showed. EDG began to play more around AD carry Hu “iBoy” Xian-Zhao and support Tian “Meiko” Ye, but seemed shakier and less decisive than prior iterations, especially when Lee “Scout” Ye-chan faltered in the mid lane.

EDG should never be counted out. Despite their 2018 LPL Spring struggles, the team improved throughout the split and Clearlove rejoined the roster just in time for a strong playoff run. If EDG are able to make the most of having two junglers with different playstyles, they will be an incredibly formidable opponent, especially since iBoy and Meiko remain one of the best bottom lanes in China. What could trip EDG up is the new meta, and Scout will have to be more consistent.

The West Region looks like the more volatile of the two LPL regions, especially with WE’s roster changes, Rogue Warriors’ meta issues towards the end of the spring regular season, and potential troublemakers in Snake and FunPlus Phoenix. This is where adaptation to an entirely new meta will be crucial. Last split, early meta adjustments and understanding kept Snake ahead of their opponents. No top laner took to the Unsealed Spellbook meta quite like Li “Flandre” Xuan-Jun, who continues to be the innovator at the forefront of Snake’s best and worst performances.

Teams to watch: Snake Esports, Team WE, Rogue Warriors, FunPlus Phoenix

Last split, Rogue Warriors stormed through the regular season alongside iG in the East Region. Now in the West Region, Rogue Warriors have an outside chance at topping the group. To do so, they’ll have to not only have a good read on the meta from the start, but adapt more quickly than they did in 2018 LPL Spring. Top laner Chen “Mouse” Yu-Hao is still a bit of a liability, and Rogue Warriors will have to find more ways to win than putting everything on AD carry Han “Smlz” Jin.

The loss of Condi hit WE hard last split. In the offseason, the team has prepared by stockpiling junglers, including former FunPlus Phoenix standout, Hu “Pepper” Zhi-Wei. However, jungle isn’t the only position where WE has multiple substitutes. The team has three supports and three AD carries, including starter Jin “Mystic” Seong-jun and recent acquisition Gu “Imp” Seung-bin. Substituting players is a delicate balancing act that few teams have done successfully. To make a run at the 2018 LPL Summer championship, WE will either have to master this, or settle on one main lineup of five.

It’s difficult to see FPX topping this group, but the late addition of Yu “Cool” Jia-Jun made them a must-watch at the end of the 2018 LPL Spring regular season. On FPX, Cool is surrounded by some interesting talent, including top laner Kim “Gimgoon” Han-saem and AD carry Lin “lwx” Wei-Xiang, although the loss of jungler Pepper to WE will likely hurt.

How do I watch as an English-speaking viewer?

The 2018 LPL Summer begins on June 11 at 2 a.m. PDT and 5 a.m. EDT, and the English-language stream can be found at twitch.tv/lpl1.

What if I just want to watch Uzi and Royal Never Give Up?

There are a lot of fun up and coming teams like JDG and Suning, but if you insist, RNG’s first match is on June 17 at 4 a.m. PDT and 7 a.m. EDT. They will be opening their new stadium in Beijing, so there will likely be a lavish opening ceremony as well.