RNG regains its crown after beating FPX in the LPL 2021 Spring Season finals

The last of the four major leagues of League of Legends has a new champion, after three months of competition where 17 teams faced each other for the ticket to the Playoffs and access to the regional finals.

The clash to define the best team in China brought two big acquaintances facing each other for the honor of being the representative of this country in the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational.

On the one hand, we had FunPlus Phoenix, who returned to the ultimate stage after their victory in the LPL 2019 Summer Playoffs, by beating RNG with a score of 3-1 and which gave them the seed to Worlds 2019, where they ended up being the world champions of that edition against G2 Esports.

On the other side was Royal Never Give Up, the legendary Chinese squad through which big names like Uzi have passed, and which stands out for having reached three LPL titles, in addition to having been the MSI 2018 champions by defeating Kingzone DragonX 3-1.

Serving as a rematch of their last meetings, RNG and FPX faced off in front of the Wuhan crowd where both teams showed great momentum heading into the best-of-five. While FPX came off winning four series in a row, RNG recovered from its fall to them by defeating Top Esports and Edward Gaming.

Following the trend, both teams showed a good performance in the first game where their level in gold difference and goals remained tied, although RNG's aggressive style began to be noticed more than in their previous duel. The victory for FPX would come in the 31st minute when after having secured the Baron, they began an engage where the Xayah of Lwx was decisive to take an ace and the first point.

(Picture: Riot Games)

Like the first game, the second match was a total war from beginning to end, where during the early game their level was more than even, however from minute 21 RNG would put FPX on the ropes, thanks to their good communication in teamfights and crowd control that allowed them to break through against all objectives and put pressure that FPX could not counteract, tying the score.

The third duel had a very different start inclined in favor of RNG, which during the early game did not stop insisting and pressing the lanes, taking several kills and objectives, and building a good advantage. The breaking point would come at minute 20, when an engage by Ming’s Leona started a chain reaction in which many RNGs fell.

But FPX did not account for the power of Gala’s Kai’Sa, who managed to attack with everything from the rear taking a Pentakill. The victory would come for RNG five minutes later after exterminating all FPX and having with them the Baron Nashor buff and the Infernal Dragon Soul.

The fourth and last game showed signs of life from FPX, thanks to a Doinb who did not stop insisting on his Ryze in engages and teamfights, however, the motivation of Gala and Ming did not stop being stronger, taking kills everywhere as the FPX turrets began to fall. By the 20th minute, the gold difference was more than 10k while the kills were almost four times more in favor of RNG.

The game and the series would be sentenced after a Shockwave by Cryin's Orianna against Doinb, leaving FPX without much resistance who fell one by one inside their own base, ending at minute 21.

Thus, after almost three years of having won their last trophy, and achieving a redemption more than longed for, RNG has been crowned the LPL champion, qualifying again on the international stage where they achieved glory a few years ago: the Mid-Season Invitational.

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They will have to face GAM Esports (VCS), Unicorns of Love (LCL) and Pentanet.GG (LCO) in the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational starting on 6th May, live from the Laugardalshöll in Reykjavík, Iceland.