These are strange times in the LPL. Two of the traditional powers are among the favorites to win the 2022 LPL Spring Split with Royal Never Give Up and Edward Gaming as co-favorites alongside LNG Esports. Recent powerhouse Top Esports is right behind that trio of teams, but China’s two world champions are considered longshots. FunPlus Phoenix and Invictus Gaming completely retooled this offseason and cut a lot of salary. That has the oddsmakers pegging those two teams to finish in the bottom half of the standings
2022 League of Legends LPL Spring Split Betting Odds
Royal Never Give Up +300
EDward Gaming +300
LNG Esports +300
Top Esports +500
Bilibili Gaming +500
Weibo Gaming +900
Ninjas in Pyjamas +1700
Rare Atom +1900
JD Gaming +2200
FunPlus Phoenix +2900
Oh My God +3100
Team WE +3900
Ultra Prime +5000
Anyone’s Legend +5000
LGD Gaming +6600
Invictus Gaming +10000
TT Gaming +10000
What will we see out of the defending world champions in 2022? EDward Gaming was the best team in China over the course of 2021, and they upset defending world champions DWG Kia in the finals back in November. They kept their championship winning team together for at least one more year with the exception of part-time jungler JunJia who joined Rare Atom. Viper and Meiko were the best bottom lane in the world last year, and a bottom lane meta would favor them in the 2022 LPL Spring Split.
After spending 2021 in the top lane, Xiaohu is back in the mid lane for Royal Never Give Up. Cryin was RNG’s weak link at Worlds, and teams punished his inability to effectively control his lane. Bin was signed from Suning Gaming to replace Xiaohu in the top lane, while Gala and long-time support Ming are still in the bottom lane. There are some questions about RNG in 2022, but the potential is there for all to see.
LNG Esports have not been afraid to spend big in order to rise in the standings over the past couple seasons. Import jungler Tarzan helped bring them to Worlds last season, and the addition of mid laner Doinb makes them a real contender in 2022. Doinb has been the best mid laner in the LPL for the past several years, and it was a surprise to see him part ways with FunPlus Phoenix.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Top Esports this year. Knight had a very down year after a strong performance throughout 2020, and JackeyLove had an up and down 2021 campaign too. There are questions in the top lane with three different players on the roster, and Karsa moved on to Ninjas in Pyjamas so we have two new junglers in Tian and Xiaopeng.
After being a mediocre team for the past few years, Bilibili Gaming made the biggest splash of the offseason by bringing in Uzi. The greatest bottom laner in the history of League of Legends took last year off to recuperate, but there are serious questions about how he will perform in 2022. Uzi does have a world class support in former FPX standout Crisp, so that should help him immensely.
The last team to watch is Weibo Gaming. They were formerly known as Suning, but they rebranded to China’s biggest social media platform this offseason. That relationship enabled them to make an all-star team with TheShy, SofM, Angel, Huanfeng, and SwordArt. This has the potential to be the best team in the LPL in 2022.
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