WeiboGaming have the series. They beat Suzhou LNG Esports 2-1 in the LPL's Week 5 on August 19, taking the first game and the decider either side of a heavy defeat in between.

That middle game was as one-sided as they come. LNG won it 18 kills to 3 in exactly 25 minutes, taking seven towers to WBG's one. 1xn's Ashe finished 5/0/10 and Nia went deathless on Galio, while all five WBG players ended on at least three deaths. For a moment, LNG looked like the side in control of the series.

Xiaohu tips the balance

The decider said otherwise, and Xiaohu was arguably the reason. His Viktor went 7/0/9 and dealt 37,934 damage, the most of anyone in the game. It wasn't a one-off either: in game one his Ryze put out 33,270, again the top figure on the map and more than 13,000 clear of the next-best player. Across WBG's two wins, the mid laner died just twice.

He had help. Elk's Xayah finished game three at 9/3/7 with 21,585 gold, the richest player in the series, and Moham's Rakan was involved in 95% of WBG's kills with a 0/5/20 line. WBG closed that game 21 kills to 14, with four dragons to LNG's two and roughly 7,000 gold ahead.

Barons weren't enough for LNG

What will frustrate LNG is how much they got out of that final game and still lost. They took both barons and finished with eight towers to WBG's seven. 1xn's Zeri was a constant presence, contributing to 93% of his team's kills and dealing 33,545 damage. Elsewhere it was thinner: sheer's Gnar posted 0/3/6 with 8,708 damage, the lowest of any non-support in the game, and Nia went 3/5/3 on Aurora.

Game one followed a familiar line for WBG, a tight 12-11 kill count but a gold advantage of around 6,300, three dragons to one and the only baron of the game. Twice in this series, LNG kept the kill score close over 37 minutes, and twice WBG came out ahead on resources. LNG's 25-minute win shows what they can do when they get things their way; turning that into a full series is the work ahead, while WBG take a 2-1 win out of Week 5.