After a long pause due to the pandemic, the LPL will officially return on March 9 with an incredibly packed schedule. According to the announcement on LPL’s Weibo page, the tournament will have a full weekly schedule until the end of the group stage on April 19. In fact, during the first week, all days except Tuesday (March 10) will feature three Bo3 matches.
The acceleration in the tournament schedule is a way for the LPL to catch up with other regions worldwide after taking a complete month off in February due to the pandemic. With this format update, the LPL will crown the Spring 2020 champion on time and prepare well for the MSI 2020, which typically takes place in early May.
Not only regarding the match schedule, but the Championship Points awarded to the Spring 2020 LPL champion will be just 60, with lower-ranked teams also receiving fewer points than in previous years (this points system determines the seeding for this year’s World Championship).
The team that garners the most attention from Vietnamese gamers is undoubtedly Suning Gaming with the presence of SofM. Suning has only played one match so far, a disappointing 0-2 loss to Rogue Warriors. In the upcoming week of matches, SofM will face tough challenges as they encounter all formidable opponents.
The opening match will be against Estar, a completely new name in the LPL; however, they are currently top of the LPL Spring 2020 standings with two wins and a fiery playstyle from their young players. The match between Suning Gaming and Estar will take place at 18:00 on March 10.
Also at 18:00 but on March 12, Suning Gaming will clash with Edward Gaming, a very strong team with quality players, led by Clearlove, a legend in Chinese League of Legends.
Suning’s final match next week will be a showdown with Bilibili Gaming, another team with two wins, and they have even defeated Royal Never Give Up. The match against Bilibili Gaming will take place at 18:00 on Saturday, March 14, marking a truly tough match for SofM and Suning Gaming as a whole.
Hopefully, SofM and his teammates will secure as many victories as possible in such a challenging week of matches.
