We’re getting to the end of the LPL Split 1 Playoffs: which top team between TES and BLG will head to the next round and keep their title hopes alive? Find out in our match preview.
Image Credit: BiliBili Gaming
BLG vs TES – LPL 2025 Split 1 Playoffs Preview
BiliBili Gaming and Top Esports are facing each other for survival in the LPL Split 1 playoffs. The two teams found themselves both in the lower bracket after only finishing second in their respective groups, despite the high expectations at the start of the season.
BLG had a slow start as the team didn’t look as dominant as it was last season. With the change of players in the jungle position, BLG took some time to get into a groove and find the optimal way to play around Wei, who is quite different from Xun when it comes to aggression. In the last series against ThurderTalk Gaming, however, I felt like we started seeing the BLG’s true colors. Aside from one loss, the team dominated the rest of the series. including a perfect game with no deaths in Game 2.
Similarly, Top Esports has also improved compared to the start of the split. The team seems to be clicking much more and Kanavi is shining as the team’s key player, with over 80% kill participation and general impact in every single key fight. JackeyLove continues to be the consistent carry he always has been and the drafts have been great as well. Overall, this is looking to be a much closer series than most anticipated…
Series Breakdown
For this series, I think there are two key matchups: the first one is the jungle and the other one is the mid lane. Based on what we have seen so far, Top Esports seem to have an advantage in how they are able to play around their jungler Kanavi compared to BLG’s Wei. On the other hand, however, I think BLG has a big advantage over TES as Knight is supposed to be a tier above Creme. TES’ mid laner has been performing decently although I think his champion pool has always been his main weakness and with the Fearless draft, this will only get exposed more and more, especially against the best mid laner of the league.
Speaking of drafts, this is going to be a big deciding factor: BLG relies much more on Bin to be a damage dealer within team compositions compared to 369 so we might see some top lane shenanigans if the former wanted to exploit counter matchups. Overall, I think BLG is slightly favored but it will be a long series for both — I don’t see this series finishing 3-0 for either side. I’m currently hovering more towards to a 3-2 for BLG, but only by a small margin. If you are interested in betting on this series, check our LoL betting section.