If you haven’t heard, the tournament preparing for the new LPL season – the 2021 Demacia Cup – is nearing its conclusion. The two teams that have reached the finals have been confirmed as Top Esports and FunPlus Phoenix.
For Top Esports, they are showing a devastating form as they approach the finals, having lost only one Bo3 match in the group stage. Even in the Quarterfinals and Semifinals, they convincingly defeated teams like Royal Never Give Up and Invictus Gaming with a score of 3-0.
Despite their high performance, the fans of Top Esports are still uneasy about the power this team possesses. The main reason stems from Tian’s underwhelming performance in several recent matches. Even in the 3-0 victory over Invictus Gaming, Tian underperformed while playing Jarvan IV (especially in game 2). In fact, News.qq.com even suggested that this champion has been “cursed” and Tian cannot play Jarvan IV well.
Indeed, looking back at the second game of the recent Demacia Cup 2021 Semifinals, it’s clear that Tian used Jarvan IV very poorly. He often mis-timed his movements, separated from his teammates, and got caught in extremely awkward situations. This made it difficult for Top Esports to contest major objectives against their opponents. If it weren’t for the outstanding performances of JackeyLove and especially Knight, TES might have lost that game.
Looking further back, we can see that Tian has been unlucky with Jarvan IV when he performed poorly with the Champion at Worlds 2021. Particularly during the match against Cloud9, he repeatedly executed self-destructive combos, causing FPX to lose their chance to advance. The result, as we saw, was that FPX was eliminated from Worlds 2021 in disgrace, while Tian left the team and moved to Top Esports.
That being said, Top Esports is showcasing a highly promising face as both Knight and JackeyLove are performing well at the Demacia Cup 2021. Moreover, the newly joined top laner – Zoom is also showing the necessary stability. If TES can improve Tian’s performance or simply stop picking Jarvan IV for him, they are likely to become a formidable contender for the title in the upcoming LPL Spring 2022.