eSports has become the focus of the sports betting world, and one of the most widely competitive video game leagues is the League of Legends Pro League (LPL), currently in its ninth year in China. We are in Group Stage (Week 5-7) of the Spring 2020 league, and 17 teams are squaring off in a ten-week season. The top eight teams will advance to the playoff tournament. Let’s take a look at the Saturday matches in Week 7 and League of Legends Odds.
eSports: League of Legends LPL Matches: April 19
Standings (as of April 17)
- Invictus Gaming – x 13-2
- FunPlus Phoenix – x 11-3
- JD Gaming – y 11-4
- eStar – y 11-5
- Top Esports – z 10-5
- EDward Gaming – z 9-6
- Royal Never Give Up – z 8-7
- OMG – z 7-8
- Bilibili Gaming 7-9
- Team WE 6-8
- Rogue Warriors 6-8
- Vici Gaming 6-9
- Suning 6-9
- Dominus Esports 6-10
- LGD Gaming 5-9
- LNG Esports – r 5-10
- Victory Five – r 0-15
- x – would earn a bye to the semifinals in the playoffs
- y – would earn a bye to the quarterfinals in the playoffs
- z – would qualify for the first round of the playoffs
- r – would enter a relegation playoff
JD Gaming (1.19) vs LGD Gaming (4.33) (3:00 am ET)
We have the third-place team in the LPL Spring 2020 standings (JD Gaming) taking on the team that is third from the bottom in LGD Gaming. LGD Gaming is in danger of falling into the relegation playoffs if they can’t get clear of LNG Esports, while Victory Five looks headed into the relegation abyss so far this season.
JD Gaming and LGD Gaming have played 10 times in the past, and you might expect JD Gaming to dominate the series, but they have split the matches, winning five apiece. LGD Gaming won the last matchup, a 2-1 thriller in the LPL Summer 2019 Group Stage.
Not only has JD Gaming won five matches in a row, they have not lost a game over that stretch, and they have not ganged up on the bottom-feeders. Their victims include Invictus and eStar along with some non-contenders, and that momentum is powerful. LGD Gaming has dropped two in a row, falling to Bilibili Gaming and FunPlus Phoenix in 2-0 fashion. With that contrast in momentum, the smart money goes with JD Gaming.
Prediction: JD Gaming wins, 2-0.
Team WE (3.48) vs EDward Gaming (1.28) (6:00 am ET)
EDward Gaming is 2 ½ matches ahead of Team WE in the standings, but both sides are close to .500 on the season. The teams have met four times, splitting the wins at two apiece. EDward Gaming won, 3-2, in the Demacia Championship playoffs back in December, while Team WE swept EDward Gaming, 2-0, in the LPL Spring 2019 and Summer 2019 Group Stages.
Team WE has struggled lately, dropping three matches in a row. They lost to eStar and Invictus Gaming, two of the top teams in the LPL Summer 2020 standings, but they also lost to LNG Esports on April 17, which is a bad loss for them.
EDward Gaming has done well against the sub-.500 teams, beating LNG Esports and OMG in recent matches, but they have struggled against winning teams, losing to FunPlus Phoenix and, most recently, falling to Invictus Gaming on April 17. There’s no shame there, but it is hard to see EDward Gaming going deep into the playoffs. For now, though, EDward Gaming seems like the smart pick here given the losing streak Team WE is stuck in.
Prediction: EDward Gaming wins, 2-0.
Invictus Gaming (1.09) vs LNG Esports (6.47) (8:00 am ET)
This matchup doesn’t offer a lot of value as it pits the top team in the standings against the next-to-last team. One interesting piece of information is the fact that LNG Esports has dominated the rivalry, winning six of the nine meetings all time, including a 3-0 sweep of Invictus in the LPL Summer 2019 playoffs.
However, Invictus has dominated the league this year, and they come in on a three-match winning streak, beating Bilibili Gaming, Team WE and EDward Gaming. LNG Esports ended a long losing streak on April 17 by taking down Team WE, but losses to Royal Never Give Up, EDward Gaming, FunPlus Phoenix and JD Gaming pushed the side down the standings, as a team that was once sniffing around the bottom of the playoff standings is now in danger of relegation.
Prediction: Invictus Gaming wins, 2-0.
