Royal Never Give Up, pre-split favorites for spring, will face Top Esports in a blockbuster matchup on Saturday in the LPL as the season picks up steam after a two-week hiatus. Here is a breakdown of the match along with potential disruptors among both teams.

RNG vs TOP Esports – Key Performers

Firstly, let’s start with the narrative around Royal Never Give Up as a team. They had the most favorable odds in the pre-split outright markets. Then, they started with a defeat in their opener before then going on a five-match winning streak, which has pushed them up to second in the LPL spring standings.

Gala has been rather steady right through the last few splits but one of the issues with Royal Never Give Up has been the lack of consistency in other lanes as well as in the jungle. Those issues seem to be solving themselves with players staying steady and increasing their kill participation rates.

Led by Gala in the bottom lane, RNG are now starting to find consistency that will make them hard to beat in team fights. Gala has averaged 4 kills, 1.13 deaths and 5.38 assists per map at a KDA of 8.33 along with a creep score of 342.06. That is comfortably the best KDA in Royal Never Give Up but that is not the best kill production. That achievement belongs to Xiaohu in the middle lane, who has produced 4.06 kills per map. He has also managed 5.69 assists at a KDA of 6.24 with a creep score of 305.13. Dominance in the mid and bottom lane has traditionally been the modus operandi of their next opponents, in Top Esports, who seem to have fallen away by the wayside in the LPL in the last few splits, at least by their usual lofty standards.

Top Esports are 2-3 in the spring split of 2022 so far. They are currently languishing at 11^th in the LPL standings with a 5-8 map record. They have also lost their last two matches, which could potentially influence their confidence and momentum in team fights.

JackeyLove has been far better in this split as compared to his performances in 2021. From a kill standpoint, he is currently leading the production for Top Esports with returns of 4.46 kills per map along with 2.77 deaths and 5 assists at a KDA of 3.42 and a creep score of 301.54. Usually, you would not mind these stats because of his kill participation because that death rate is a bit too high. Knight has historically been Top Esports’ shining light on that front, with 3.08 kills, 1.92 deaths and 5.54 assists per map at a KDA of 4.48 and a creep score of 304.92. He will have to improve just a bit more to help Top Esports get over this early-season slump.

RNG vs TOP Esports Betting Markets

Top Esports will also have to consider a new strategy in the lanes. An overly aggressive approach, which is their method of operation, is fraught with risk, and that has reflected in their results as well. Against RNG, Top Esports will have to find a strategy that is a bit more concerted.

In terms of upset potential, I would not say it’s low because Top Esports are not a bad team. On Betway, you would get LoL odds of 2.55 for Top Esports to win outright. Based on your risk position, you can opt for an outright win or even the handicap market. But the upset here is not implausible, which is why if I was betting on this fixture, I would be backing Top Esports to come away with an against-the-trend victory.

You could also protect your outright with a bet on RNG to win 2-1 in this series. This nets you x2.85 returns over at Betway. RNG tends to drop a map in most of their series, and given the break period, this is high probably on Saturday as well. Even if you put an identical bet on both outcomes you will come out with a profit.