The highlight match of the day on February 15 (Vietnam time) in the LPL Spring 2022 was the showdown between Weibo Gaming and Edward Gaming. On one side was the reigning 2021 World Champion team, which had maintained an unbeaten record since the start of the LPL Spring 2022. On the other side was WBG, which has been performing quite well with only one loss so far.
However, WBG was still considered the underdog as SofM and his teammates often had matches that made fans’ hearts race, while EDG was more stable. SofM himself also stated that EDG currently has no weaknesses, but he assured that WBG would perform their best in this matchup.
However, the course of the match turned out to be completely different from the predictions of the audience, experts, and even the WBG players themselves. In a “magical” day of play, Thresh in the hands of ON truly reminded fans of the “God of Hooks” MadLife with his precise Death Sentences, one of which targeted Viper near the Dragon pit, helping WBG officially take the lead in the game. Meanwhile, TheShy and SofM also played exceptionally well. The only player who seemed a bit lackluster compared to his teammates in this match was… Huanfeng, as the other members performed incredibly well. Even Angel was immortal throughout game 1, and WBG took the lead 1-0.
Moving to game 2, EDG’s goal was definitely to equalize after their loss in game 1. But even when losing 3 Dragon buffs, “Dragon Denial Gaming” still performed exceptionally well. Hecarim in SofM’s hands truly brought nightmares to EDG’s members. Angel’s Orianna and TheShy’s Gwen continued to be key players in both lane pushes and team fights. The decision not to ban ON’s Thresh allowed him to continue making decisive highlight plays. WBG easily took down EDG’s members in team fights and secured a convincing victory.
With this victory, WBG officially took EDG’s position in the current LPL Spring standings, with a record of 6 wins – 1 loss, tied with Royal Never Give Up, who is currently in second place. More importantly, this victory gives WBG members confidence and signifies that they have passed what can be considered one of the toughest tests of the LPL Spring 2022 group stage.
As for the reigning LPL Summer 2021 champions, the defeat against WBG exposed numerous issues they face, from easily predictable picks/bans to coordination problems among team members. However, EDG is not in a dire situation yet and they still have plenty of time to learn from this experience for the remainder of the season.