EDG, RNG earn spots in LPL finals, qualify for Worlds

The top two teams in Chinese League of Legends have officially booked their places at Worlds — but first they’ve got to square off in the LPL finals.

Undefeated EDward Gaming and defending champions Royal Never Give Up both won their LPL semifinal matches Saturday, securing the top two Chinese seeds at Worlds this fall. The two teams will play Friday, August 26 for the LPL championship and the region’s top seed at Worlds. The loser will still qualify for Worlds based on championship points.

Both teams won their semifinal series in a full five games — EDward Gaming took down Team WE 3-2 and Royal Never Give Up followed with a 3-2 win against I May.

EDG and RNG join Korea’s ROX Tigers as the three teams that have already booked their trips to Worlds. For more on the qualification process, including how teams qualify and what the current standings are, click here.

After winning their first three splits in the LPL, EDG finished fourth and second in the last two splits, losing to RNG in the finals last time out. EDG has made Worlds each of the past two years, getting swept by Fnatic in the quarterfinals last year and losing to Star Horn Royal Club in the quarterfinals the year before.

Royal Never Give Up replaced Star Horn Royal Club in the LPL, finishing ninth in Summer 2015 before retooling the roster prior to 2016. The team has since been on a roll in 2016, making the semifinals of both IEM and MSI and winning the LPL Spring Split.