TOP Esports has made the climb up the pantheon of the LPL 2022 Spring Split after they took down Bilibili Gaming to improve to 7-4 and move into a tie for sixth place with Bilibili.
For the first six weeks, the top six teams in the LPL 2022 Spring Split had been untouched in regards to the standings. While there was the occasional upset for the top six, never was there a point where you felt like their spot could be jeopardized and surpassed by one of the teams below them.
That is until TOP Esports, who at one point was 2-4 in the standings, decided to start winning. From that point, TOP has steadily climbed up the standings up to their matchup against Bilibili Gaming, where a win would tie them for a spot in the top six.
With their win streak in jeopardy after a game-one loss, TOP Esports turned things around in the next two games. In game two, TOP’s top laner Wayward stood out on Gwen in TOP’s 28-minute victory. His immaculate play helped TOP jungler Tian have a lane to play around as Jackeylove’s Jinx scaled up for the late stages of the game.
In the final game, all eyes were on Knight’s ability to create plays around the map for his side lanes on the Ryze pick. His play helped Jackeylove’s Jinx eventually scale up to where the AD carry could dominate the late-game and capped off the final game with a 10/1/6 scoreline in their 28-minute victory.
Now, TOP is one of the LPL’s hottest teams and a true contender to make a deep run in the future LPL 2022 Spring Split Playoffs. Tied for sixth, they now have an opportunity to break the previously impenetrable top six and bypass the initial knockout stages.
They will look to extend their win streak to six series wins against the struggling LNG Esports in the final match of week seven on March 6.
As for Bilibili, this loss puts them in the unenviable territory of possibly losing their top six placement that they have held for the entirety of the LPL 2022 Spring Split. They will look to try and maintain their placement against FunPlus Phoenix, who are on a five-series loss streak, on March 4.