Reigning Spring champions JD Gaming opened the League of Legends Pro League Summer Split by handing Suning their first loss Wednesday in Shanghai.
JD Gaming swept Suning (2-1) behind the MVP play of mid laner Zeng "Yagao" Qi and bot laner Dong-wook "LokeN" Lee. Yagao posted a 5/0/6 kill/deaths/assists ratio in the first game, while LokeN registered a 9/2/4 mark in the second.
In Wednesday's other match, Royal Never Give Up improved to 2-0 with a sweep of Vici Gaming (1-1). Support Shi "Ming" Sen-Ming was the MVP of the 26-minute first game with 11 assists. Jungler Li "XLB" Xiao-Long earned MVP of the 29-minute second game with a kill percentage of 87.5 percent.
The 17-team, 10-week LPL season runs through Aug. 9. Following a single round robin of best-of-three matches, the top eight sides will advance to the Summer Split playoffs.
All matches in the single-elimination postseason bracket will be best-of-five, with dates yet to be announced. The top two teams will get double byes into the semifinals, and the third- and fourth-place teams will get byes in the quarterfinals. The fifth- through eighth-place teams will compete in the opening round. The tiebreaker order for playoff positioning is game differential followed by head-to-head result.
The playoff winner will earn a spot in the League of Legends World Championship, scheduled to be played in China at a date to be announced. The champion will claim more than $280,000 of the nearly $600,000 prize pool.
The LPL is the first of the major League of Legends circuits to open its Summer Split. The League of Legends European Championship (LEC) and the North American-based League Championship Series (LCS) will begin June 12, and League Champions Korea (LCK) will start June 17.
Week Two action continues Thursday with two matches. Dominus Esports face eStar Gaming and Invictus Gaming playing their opener against Team WE.
1. Royal Never Give Up, 2-0, +4
2. Victory Five, 2-0, +3
T3. Top Esports, 1-0, +2
T3. JD Gaming, 1-0, +2
5. LGD Gaming, 1-0, +1
6. Suning, 2-1, +1
T7. Vici Gaming, 1-1, 0
T7. Team WE, 1-1, 0
9. LNG Esports, 1-1, -1
10. Invictus Gaming, 0-0, 0
T11. eStar Gaming, 0-1, -1
T11. EDward Gaming, 0-1, -1
T11. FunPlus Phoenix, 0-1, -1
T14. Bilibili Gaming, 0-1, -2
T14. Dominus Esports, 0-1, -2
T14. Rogue Warriors, 0-1, -2
17. Oh My God, 0-2, -3