We are now officially halfway into the Summer season, and we’re seeing little shifts from teams here and there, but the true spice is in what matches will unfold for the 5^th week. Great news for everyone, because we have handpicked the five matches you should watch for this week of the LPL 2020 Summer season!

We will update this article as the odds for the other teams come out later in the week.

FunPlus Phoenix versus Victory Five – Day 1, Match 2

This will be the first big jump in the difficulty of matches for Victory Five (2.77 to win). In their past matches, they have gone through a linear pace of increasing difficulty. Their latest hurdle was against Royal Never Give Up, which was one of the rising teams, and they managed to 2-0 RNG. This week is when the real test begins.

For FunPlus Phoenix (1.33 to win), this is another game they need to win to redeem their glory. They have landed on atop 8 spot, which is not a good look if you are the reigning world champion. The odds are in their favor, and for good reason. While some teams have figured out how to beat FPX, are still a strong team that can adapt regardless.

Time has proven the odds to be wrong when Victory Five is involved, so we’ll be banking on Victory Five to take their steps towards victory.

Royal Never Give Up versus Team WE – Day 2, Match 2

Royal Never Give Up (1.5 to win) is on a roll lately. While they were beaten by Victory Five last week, they’re still generally a better team than last Spring split. One could even say that this is peak RNG we’re looking at, with Betty doing a better job than most expected. Xiaohu and XLB are top level players who can go toe-to-toe with the better players of the league.

Team WE (2.13 to win) is indeed a “we” team—their KDA doesn’t stand out but their team coordination is up there. Every seasoned LPL spectator could even notice the similarities with FPX’s playstyle, calling the team a lite version of FPX. Teacherma is still the same roaming mid laner, and beishang has solidified his aggressive and team-focused jungle playstyle.

We believe this will be a close match, but will turn out to be favorable for Royal Never Give Up with a potential 2-1 score.

Team WE versus JD Gaming – Day 4, Match 2

Once more, Team WE’s capabilities will be tested against JD Gaming, the Spring Split champion and famed teamfight connoisseurs.

In this matchup, Team WE is at a more critical position than their battle with RNG. Everyone from Morgan to Jiumeng need to stay on their toes against the potential antics JDG will pull against them. Their namesake will be tested, as well as their team play and fortitude against a team who knows what to do in the messy teamfights that happen in League of Legends.

JD Gaming, who are on the cusp of entering top 8, is still one of the better teams in the LPL. If there’s a team who’s known for teamfighting, there’s no doubt that JDG comes to mind. From Zoom to LokeN, their champion pool always consists of either poke-heavy champions or burst-heavy champions—fit for a team who is ready to brawl at all times.

Invictus Gaming versus JD Gaming – Day 6, Match 2

Invictus Gaming is a team that’s grasping at straws to stay at the top of the scoreboard. Rookie and Ning, as seen in previous weeks, have been leading the charge for the rest of the team. Fortunately, they have been coming up victorious in the past few weeks, but their wins were Game 3 clutch scenarios. They 2-1’d FunPlus Phoenix in Week 4, and against a team that’s marginally better than FPX, things are looking tough.

JD Gaming need no introduction, and this matchup is more than a clash between of two of the top four LPL teams. For JDG, it is a match to prove themselves that they are not one-hit wonders from Spring split, and therefore deserves a higher spot to qualify for the playoffs. Yagao against Rookie will be quite the skill matchup, while Kanavi versus Ning is a race to see which jungler impacts their lane better first.

Royal Never Give Up versus FunPlus Phoenix – Day 7, Match 2

RNG versus FPX can be potentially one of the most hype matches, given that the latter is actually shaping to become one of the best teams this split. Let’s look at the player-specific matchups to understand why.

Royal Never Give Up has one of the best marksmen in Betty. While he’s no Uzi, he has his own style with Ming that makes up their deadly bot lane duo. Xiaohu’s champion pool comprises of your usual mid lane picks (Syndra, Orianna and Sylas, and 6 others) that look to snowball from their own lane. XLB has the early game jungle champions on deck, and New is playing the superior Wukong and other meta top laners.

FunPlus Phoenix is known for their dark technology, and their champion roster is no surprise. Lwx knows how to pilot Aphelios and Ezreal, as well as to take a swim on the Fasting Senna strategy. Doinb’s unique mid lane picks that all center around acting as a roaming second support is not a good look for Xiaohu’s picks. Tian also has early game jungle picks as per the competitive meta, and Khan is playing the meta top laners that rely on late game powerspikes (Kayle, Ornn).

Once again, we’ll be updating our post for the odds of winning in the latter half of the games, so come back later to check which of your favorite teams are likely to win!