I hereby grant permission to all spectators to henceforth refer to LPL as Lel PL.

Despite a very confusing time for Edward Gaming, the first three best-of-twos featured logic, smart drafting, and superior teamplay ruling the day — with the exception of Yasuo top, perhaps. One confusing set won't dictate my reaction to the first three sets as I strive to break them down.

In keeping with the Sivir theme, it's worth noting that Sivir was banned or first picked in every game but one — and she was picked on purple side's first rotation that game.

Mata and dade

Mata and dade have been in contention for biggest troll since their arrival in the LPL. Last split, Mata put much more effort into games than dade, but this split he's gone so far as to spam laugh in multiple instances while feeding.

dade has now exhibited strong play in two games two days in a row. He's finally showing remorse that other players exhibit after heavy losses between games.

In the Vici Gaming vs Master3 set, Mata and dade were easily the MVPs of their teams. Mata controlled the pace for Vici Gaming with his Thresh in Game 1, ganking top and mid lane repeatedly to get the team's carries ahead. Victory became a foregone conclusion.

dade made a splash in Game 2. His first Ekko performance had him farming under turret, but tonight's was in contention with Rookie's for best mid lane Ekko in China so far.

If both dade and Mata can find their drive in the same game the next time they meet, results will be explosive.

The OMG ban strategy

Like Snake last split, OMG unravels when they're denied key champions. LGD had a powerful comeback today, banning and denying Maokai and Sivir from Xiyang and Uzi. This strategy proved fruitful for King last night, and LGD carried it all the way through today.

OMG's rotation-based style lacks direction without Sivir, and they lose reliable initiation without Maokai. Xiyang is significantly more lost on any other champion.

I might go so far as to ban Hecarim instead of Kalista, given that Uzi's Kalista win rate isn't so high, to truly shut out Xiyang.

To LGD's credit, they played a lot more like their old selves. TBQ's reliable Lee Sin got the ball rolling in Game 1, and he had his best Sejuani game yet to follow up. He seems to have some decent synergy with Flame, as the Equalizer and Glacial Prison stacking was devastating to OMG.

Zero's Nami

All of LPL's best supports played today. The first set featured Mata's stylings, Pyl controlled the pace of the second set, and the Zero and Heart head-to-head made the third set interesting.

Zero's best champion is still Nami. Nami got him noticed in Korea last year, and it helped bolster Star Horn Royal Club during their most difficult times thereafter. Excellent Tidal Waves reset fights when inSec and Uzi over-extended.

This time around, it's all about the Aqua Prisons. Zero used Nami to grab picks more, and the Corki burst and suspension allowed King to neutralize target after target.

King secured their first 2-0 today. They're finding new ways to make old picks work, and triple threat compositions are more at home than they ever were.

I still don't see a legitimate reason to play Yasuo top, but given inSec's Yasuo-heavy match history, I suppose there's no helping it at this point.

WE and UP 2-0 Edward Gaming

What's going on with Edward Gaming? Have the Mid-Season Invitational champions lost their edge? Are the bottom tier teams in LPL just that much better?

Tentatively, the answer to both the last two questions is no. Edward Gaming played scattered in both their losses. Deft doesn't look comfortable playing Tristana or Kalista, which is an increasing concern. BaeMe and pawN both had low performances in their appearances with missed skillshots and general mispositioning on the map.

Spirit and Mystic will resume their hot date to celebrate a well-fought victory.

That's not to take credit from WE. Like Unlimited Potential, they brought strategy into the picture. Gragas stalls the heavy flanking that Koro1 brings to the table, and Aluka's sticky tanks found the correct target (Deft) over and over.

Teams in LPL are starting to discover that Edward Gaming is primarily the Clearlove and Deft show. With Spirit out-jungling Clearlove and Deft either destroyed by Nautilus or mis-positioning on Tristana, Edward Gaming lost their core. Everything else fell away.

Kelsey Moser is a staff writer for theScore eSports. You can follow her on Twitter.