JDG got there in the end. Beijing JDG Esports beat EDWARD GAMING 2–1 on August 23 in Week 5 of the LPL, but not before EDG dragged them through a 55-minute second game and forced the series the distance.

The opener offered little warning of what was to come. JDG closed it out with nine towers to EDG's one, Xiaoxu finished without a death on Jax, and HongQ's Orianna led all players in damage. EDG managed just four kills, and it looked like the kind of tidy win that sets up a quick sweep.

EDG drag it out

It wasn't. Game 2 ran to 55:11, and EDG came out of it with the series level. Zdz was the standout on Rumble, finishing 10/4/3, while BuLLDoG's Yone and Leave's Varus each cleared 40,000 damage. EDG ended the game holding both Barons and four dragons, and JDG's bot lane paid for it: GALA and Vampire died eleven times between them, even as GALA's Caitlyn put up the biggest damage number of the series.

For JDG, it was arguably an uncomfortable reminder that a clean first game guarantees nothing. For EDG, it was proof they could match their opponents over the long haul.

HongQ settles it

Whatever EDG found in that second game, it was gone by the third. JDG won the decider in 24:27 with 28 kills to EDG's five, a scoreline about as one-sided as a professional game gets. HongQ led the charge on Aurora at 12/2/8, xiaofang chipped in eight kills on Pantheon, and Vampire's Thresh went 1/0/20 — involved in three quarters of his team's kills without dying once.

On the other side, the hero of Game 2 had a night to forget. Zdz went 0/5/0 on Jayce with no kill participation at all, and EDG's whole roster finished in negative territory.

JDG take the series and the momentum that comes with closing so emphatically. The open question is which version of this matchup tells the truer story: the two quick JDG wins, or the hour-long grind in which EDG looked every bit their equal. EDG, for their part, will want to know why their Game 2 form vanished so completely when the series was on the line.