Some major changes to the League of Legends landscape have taken place in two short months! This league overview series will get you caught up on the major takeaways as well as which teams/players you should keep your eyes on. So sit back, relax, and get ready for the return of pro League of Legends!

Opening Day: The Spring Series will begin on Jan 10th and run through the 20th of March. 

New Teams: Rouge Warriors rebrand as Anyone’s Legends and Suning rebrands as Weibo Gaming. eStar Gaming rebrands as Ultra Prime.

Major Roster Moves: Like in most years, almost all teams made significant shifts in rosters. Some big ones to highlight are below:

  • Anyone’s Legend: The big move for this rebranded organization is the addition of Maple from the PCS (PSG Talon). Maple is exciting for Anyone’s Legend fans because he has had a stand out record from a minor region at international events. This team doesn’t look as strong as other LPL teams, but Maple could really take another serious step in his own legacy on this lineup. 
  • Bilibili Gaming: There is one huge name in this lineup that all League fans should get excited for and it is Uzi. The return of the LPL legend has put the entire scene on notice. The addition of Breathe from Team WE could also prove to be very impactful in terms of putting serious stress on opposing teams when they prepare for the new look BLG. 
  •  EDward Gaming: No changes to this roster
  • FunPlus Phoenix: FPX brought in the Korean mid laner from Nongshim RedForce in Gori. With all of the big names in the LCK, Gori actually was second in total kills for the Summer Split with 145 and he had over 200 assists to his name as well. FPX could really benefit from this big boost in a really important role. 
  • Invictus Gaming: IG had an almost entire roster scrub with only Lucas and Xun making a return to the lineup. We see neny, Yuekai, Xzz, xiaoyueji, Ahn added across the three remaining positions.
  • JD Gaming: A major addition to this lineup is Hope in the ADC role. Hope comes from EDG where he served as a sub for them. 
  • LGD Gaming: Much like Invictus Gaming, LGD saw a lot of roster movement. A big highlight for this team is picking up Eric from OMG. While OMG was one of the lower placing teams overall in the LPL, Eric had some decent standout performances and is a strong laner. 
  • LNG: This could be one of the biggest additions in the LPL and it is LNG grabbing Doinb from FPX. While LNG put together a strong end of 2021, adding the likes of Doinb along with LvMao could put LNG over the top and make a bid to the World Championships.
  • Oh My God: This organization pulled some players up from their bench but in terms of new additions we saw OMG pick up former LNG top laner, M1kuya as well as Team Pinnacle’s jungler shanji. These additions have some potential, but with the talent that the LPL sees across their teams it will be hard to perform with an all new top half of the map. 
  • Rare Atom: I am not sure if there is a lot of upward movement for this roster. A plus is that it appears that they are trying to address their support needs to help allow their super star ADC iBoy. It will take time though to see if either yuyanjia or Zorah will fill this need for them. 
  • Royal Never Give Up: After letting Xiaoxu and Cryin walk, there were some question marks about how the organization would respond. Their pivot was to pick up Bin from Suning and move their all star top laner Xiaohu to the mid lane (his original role). A lot of individual skill here, with even more upside. 
  • Team WE: The only noteworthy addition to this team is in the top lane with Biubiu from BLG. I think Breathe (the previous top laner) is a more consistent performer than Biubiu. I think Biubiu has an edge in terms of his individual skill and that could be beneficial for this team if they can give him the support that BLG couldn’t before. 
  • ThunderTalk Gaming: There is a sense of risk in these players. The only noteworthy player pickup is Puff from IG in the ADC role, and he wasn’t even the biggest standout from that squad. 
  • TOP Esports: TOP Esports seem to have fully embraced the idea of competition in the roles that they saw weakness in last year. With 369 out of the top lane, they have brought in Qingtian, Wayward, and Zoom. In the jungle, Karsa is out and we see Tian and Xiaopeng stepping in to compete for playing time. 
  • Ultra Prime: The list begins and ends with Cryin. The former Mid Season Invitational champion has moved from RNG to the newly rebranded squad. He brings a sense of security to the mid lane but will most likely look for others to bring the high mechanical skill to the table. 
  • Victory Five: This squad will have serious expectations going into this split. With the introduction of Rich in the top lane and Rookie in the mid lane, there is far more talent on this squad in 2022 as compared to 2021.
  • Weibo Gaming: A fairly noteworthy signing here is the introduction of TheShy (along with Decade) in the top lane to replace Bin. I think carrying two top laners may help support the team when TheShy falls into his down times in performances. 

Players to Watch: These are some of my projected big performers for this upcoming year and some of my reasoning why. Big things should be in the future of each of these players. 

  • Viper (EDG): With a World Championship under his belt, I am curious to see how Viper continues to grow. There are so many quality ADCs in the LPL and it will take continued strong performances out of Viper to get EDG back to the top. 
  • Uzi (BLG): There is no one else that the world is going to be watching more closely than Uzi. Regarded by some as the greatest ADC to ever play the game, Uzi changed the way most players saw the game. He has high mechanical skill and a knowledge of the game that is second to no one. 
  • Bin/Xiaohu (RNG): This shift for Xiaohu to the mid lane could be huge for RNG. He is a wonderful laner and brings a lot of individual talent but the question will be whether or not he can do it in a role he hasn’t played professionally for some time. 
  • Rookie (V5): This man carried a very disfunctional IG roster all of 2021. With more capable teammates around him like Rich and Karsa, the ceiling could be very high for this top five mid lane talent. 

Projected Standings for Spring:

  1. Weibo Gaming
  2. Bilibili Gaming
  3. EDward Gaming
  4. Victory Five
  5. Team WE
  6. Ultra Prime
  7. LNG Esportrs
  8. Royal Never Give Up
  9. TOP Esports
  10. JD Gaming
  11. Rare Atom
  12. LGD Gaming
  13. FunPlus Phoenix
  14. Anyone’s Legend
  15. Oh My God
  16. Invictus Gaming
  17. TT Gaming