LPL Spring 2023: FunPlus Phoenix Look Set to Capitalize on a Destabilized Team WE

• FunPlus Phoenix face off against the weakened veterans Team WE
• Anyone's Legend and Invictus Gaming enter an extremely even group stage contest against each other 
• Bilibili Gaming face reigning in-form champions JD Gaming

FunPlus Phoenix vs. Team WE Pick

FunPlus Phoenix

FunPlus Phoenix vs. Team WE Prediction

FunPlus Phoenix look set to capitalize on a destabilized Team WE.

FunPlus Phoenix - Former World Champions Start The Season With A Refreshed Roster

The 2019 World Championship winners FunPlus Phoenix are gearing up for another run at League of Legends gold. Despite winning the LPL in 2019 just before the Worlds, the team has had some inconsistent form in the last couple of years - placing as high as 2nd and low as 10th in the LPL. Let's look at some of their recent stats to set our expectations ahead of the new season. 

FunPlus Phoenix won 53 and lost 54 over 2022, making for a win rate of just under 50%. The team dealt 1976 damage per minute over the season, leading to an average of 12.9 kills per game and a kill-death ratio of 1.6. The team also had 2.3 Dragons per game and 0.64 Nashors per game. 

The former champions obtained 1833 gold per minute over the season and established the first tower 50.5% of the time. The esports organization has taken note of their inconsistent results and recently announced the addition of haoye, Xingye, Lele, and H4cker to their roster. With the exception of haoye, the new players have significant S-Tier tournament experience. They could make the difference in helping FunPlus Phoenix discover the consistency that they need to improve. 

Team WE - Longtime Legends Enter 2023 On Shaky Legs 

Team WE, formerly known as World Elite are one of the oldest esports organizations in China. 2022 was a tumultuous year for the team, with over 20 roster changes taking place over the season. Their results from the season need to be observed with a grain of salt, as no team in the world can put in consistently winning performances unless they have a stable base established. 

As we just mentioned, 2022 was a rough year for Team WE; they closed the season with a win rate of 29%, with 59 losses to only 24 wins. Seemingly on the backfoot throughout the year, the team drew first blood 48.2% of the time but notably scored 1774 damage per minute and 10.5 kills per game, for an overall kill/death ratio of 1.1 - just about meeting the benchmark for a modern S-Tier League of Legends team. 

Their economy and objectives stats also fell below the mark in 2022. Team WE obtained 1714 gold per minute and only had 1.8 Dragons and 0.53 Nashors per game. As they finished the last two LPL splits in 17th and 15th place, respectively, it remains to be seen how the team performs against an inconsistent but overall mid-tier, former championship-winning team in FunPlus Phoenix. Factoring in the instability in their roster, we predict a fairly easy outing for FunPlus Phoenix.

Anyone's Legend vs. Invictus Gaming Pick

Invictus Gaming

Anyone's Legend vs. Invictus Gaming Prediction

Anyone's Legend might be even on season stats, but Invictus Gaming are expected to have the overall competitive edge.

Anyone Legend - An Aggressive Team That Needs To Balance Economy Better

The team formerly known as Rogue Warriors find themselves facing off against another bottom-table team in Invictus Gaming. Based on past results and the form of both teams going into this tournament, we believe that this is the most evenly-matched game out of the three covered here. Anyone's Legend finished LPL Summer in 11th and LPL Spring in 13th place, respectively. 

Anyone's Legend had a decent 2022, with an overall win rate of 41%, scoring 33 wins to 48 losses. The notoriously aggressive squad drew first blood 60.5% of the time and racked up an average of 12.8 kills per game, for an overall kill/death ratio of 1.5 and an average of 1901 damage per minute.

Their aggressive approach to competitive play invariably impacts their economy stats, as Anyone's Legend obtained 1765 gold per minute and had first tower only a third of the time over the course of all their games. The team also had 2.1 Dragons and 0.85 Nashors per game. 

Since Anyone's Legend has been in the LPL for only two years, it's hard to tell how their results will improve over the next season. 2023 looks promising, as they have only one roster change announced so far. 

Invictus Gaming - Former World Champions Have A Stable Roster

2023 marks the twelfth year of Invictus Gaming's participation in the LPL. Since their formation in 2013, the team have tasted LPL gold on more than one occasion. Their most recent success came in 2019 when they defeated JD Gaming 3-1 to take the spring split title. 

Just a year earlier, Invictus Gaming had won the 2018 World Championships. However, the team has not been able to hold on to winning form in the last couple of years, finishing 13th and 14th in the last two LPL splits. 

Over 2022, Invictus Gaming maintained a win rate of 41%, scoring 38 wins to 55 losses. The team dealt an average of 1916 damage per minute, with an average of 12.4 kills per game and a kill/death ratio of 1.6. 

The team fared better on the economy front than their rivals, Anyone's Legend by acquiring 1805 gold per minute over the season. The team had 2.3 Dragons and 0.62 Nashors per game, while being the first ones to have a tower 38% of the time. 

While they're statistically even going into 2023, we pick Invictus Gaming to get the win because of how much more experience they have in the highest tiers of League of Legends competition. 

Bilibili Gaming vs JD Gaming Pick

JD Gaming

Bilibili Gaming vs JD Gaming Prediction

Returning champions JD Gaming are touted to stay in top form well into 2023.

Bilibili Gaming - A Strong Team On Paper 

Unfortunately for Bilibili Gaming, who are historically a bottom-table team, they're going up against the reigning champions JD Gaming in the opening stages of LPL Spring 2023. The team finished 9th-10th in the last Summer split and 7th-8th in the last Spring split. 

In 2022, Bilibili gaming had a win rate of 50%, winning 51 games throughout the season. Their damage stats are on par with champions JD Gaming, with an average of 2040 damage per minute, 13.2 kills per game and a kill death ratio of 1.7.

They fared well economically by obtaining 1814 gold per minute and establishing the first tower in 52.8% of their games. Bilibili gaming had obtained 2.2 dragons per game and 0.62 Nashors per game by the end of the season. While the stats match up, they're facing the monumental task of beating an in-form reigning champion in JD Gaming, and the odds are stacked against them.

JD Gaming - Reigning Champions Look Unbeatable In The Group Stage

If their 2022 performances were anything to go by, then we're super excited to have the privilege of watching JD over another LPL season. JD Gaming are currently riding high on the successes of 2022, having won the last LPL Summer split against Top Esports and placing 4th in the Spring split of 2022. 

JD Gaming also finished the 2022 World Championship in 3rd-4th place, although their form seems to have taken a skid since their loss in the Worlds. They are currently on a 4 gaming losing streak, having won 2 out of their last 10 games played. 

Through 2022, JD Gaming had a superlative win rate of 71%, only losing 29 games and winning 49. The reigning champions dealt a mind boggling 2436 damage per minute to get 16.5 kills per game and a kill/death ratio of 1.9. Their win rate when ahead at 15% minutes was an unbelievable 87.5%.

JD Gaming obtained 1908 gold per minute through the season and had the first tower 59% of the time. The elite team obtained 2.5 Dragons and 0.67 Nashors per game, making them, on paper, the team to beat. 

How To Watch LPL Spring 2023

• Teams: FunPlus Phoenix vs. Team WE, Anyone's Legend vs. Invictus Gaming, Bilibili Gaming vs. JD Gaming
• Location: China
• Time: Saturday, 14 January at 2 am ET onwards
• How to watch: LPL Twitch channel