FunPlus Phoenix vs JD Gaming

The 2020 Mid-Season Cup semifinal matches are finally here, and we're in for quite a treat! First up, we have a much-anticipated clash between JD Gaming and FunPlus Gaming, two LPL giants of unprecedented power and potential. The former are the current LPL champions -- and they've won the title without breaking much of a sweat. The latter, however, are the defending World Champions and they've even bolstered their roster a couple of months ago by picking up one of the best and most talented Korean top laners in history: Khan. The same Khan that's currently running circles around his opposition.

Needless to say, fireworks are basically guaranteed.

The fact that we'll witness a full-blown Best of 5 is yet another reason to get excited. You can experiment to your heart's content in a double round robin, but the best teams in the world shine brightest once they have multiple games at their disposal. Right now, we have a spectacular LPL clash at hands and if things pan out as expected, this might be one of the best and most exciting matches of the year. Whenever an LPL giant steps foot on stage to compete, try not to blink too much as you'll probably miss a good chunk of the action. Fast-paced, hyper-aggressive moves and plays are the name of the game, and JD and FPX are the best at it.

Predicting the outcome of this one match, however, feels downright impossible. Both JD and FPX are bone fide League of Legends behemoths, but they're also flawed in highly peculiar ways. Some of their flaws were on full display over the last two days as they dropped games and fought back from deficits they didn't have to be in. JD Gaming were outclassed by Gen.G in a hideously one-sided clash, and they also struggled mightily against DragonX in a game they were losing from its very beginning.

They sure are a champion, and coming back from such an egregious deficit is no easy task -- it shows immense mental fortitude and grit, but some deficits are impossible to come back from, especially if you're against a team that can fully capitalize and close out the game. One such team is FunPlus Phoenix. Fortunately for JD Gaming, FPX wasn't perfect in execution either. In fact, it's hard to read whether these teams are taking the Mid-Season Cup seriously or not. One game they're playing like their lives depend on it, other times they go for a full-blown fiesta and hope for the best. To make matters even more interesting, no one was exempt from this sort of thing. T1, the LCK champions, finished last in their group after "upsetting" FunPlus Phoenix in the opening match. Invictus Gaming -- the 2018 World Champions -- also looked like a shadow of their former selves.

In the end, however, we simply have to side with JD Gaming. They know FunPlus Phoenix better than anyone else as they've fought against the defending World champs on multiple occasions throughout the last couple of months. That, in a way, doesn't mean much as they're now competing in a completely different setting in a slightly more nuanced meta, but the point still stands. They know what they're getting themselves into, and they know how FPX want to play the game out.

Still, FPX are a behemoth in every sense of the word. They definitely have what it takes to get the win so proceed with caution. If you're looking for a safe bet, this certainly isn't one. In any case, regardless of the final outcome, we should be in for one heck of a Best of 5.