Top Esports lift their first LPL trophy in five years

Top Esports lift their first LPL trophy in five years

Martin Arévalo-Östberg

1 Feb, 2025, 17:59

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Last updated: 8 Apr, 2025, 17:06

Top Esports (TES) have returned to the very top of the LPL after defeating Anyone's Legend to lift the Split 1 2025 trophy. Having completed a grueling run through the Lower Bracket to defeat some of the best teams in the region, Top Esports' win in the Grand Finals sees the team lift an LPL trophy for the first time in almost five years.

With the title in their hands, Top Esports will now set their sights on First Stand, where they will represent the region at the first international tournament of the year.

Top Esports lift the LPL Split 1 trophy
JackeyLove and Top Esports celebrate their win at the LPL Split 1 Grand Finals. (Credit: LPL)

No stopping the Top Esports runaway train

Top Esports' run at the LPL Split 1 seems almost too good to be true. During the entire split, TES played a total of eight best-of-5 series. Of these, the team lost only once: a 1-3 loss in the Group Stage to none other than Anyone's Legend to finish second in their group.

Having lost against their eventual Grand Finals rivals, Top Esports' second place meant the team had to start their Playoffs run through the Lower Bracket. And that is when the true magic began.

To complete their title run, TES were put through a grueling gauntlet in which they came away the victors in consecutive series against Invictus Gaming, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Bilibili Gaming, JD Gaming, and Anyone's Legend. And the most impressive part? Despite going up against some of the LPL's finest, Top Esports won all of their playoff series with a 3-1 scoreline.

Top Esports' run at the LPL Split 1 Playoffs. (Credit: Strafe Esports)
Top Esports' run at the LPL Split 1 Playoffs. (Credit: Strafe Esports)

Despite having little time to do so much as catch their breath, Top Esports came into the Grand Finals and threw everything but the kitchen sink at an Anyone's Legend squad that has yet to grow accustomed to the pressures of playing on the biggest stage. This was, after all, the very first time in the team's history that Anyone's Legend showed up to an LPL Finals.

With the win, TES put an end to five years of drought to finally get their hands on another LPL trophy. Greatness, however, waits for no one, and it's on to First Stand now.

TES JackeyLove: A timeless MVP

Almost seven years after winning Worlds 2018 with Invictus Gaming, JackeyLove continues to deliver the goods. During the fourth and final game of the LPL Split 1 Finals, the Top Esports ADC picked Draven and dominated teamfights against an Anyone's Legend team composition seemingly designed to counter the pick.

During the three games that Top Esports won in the finals, JackeyLove put up a total scoreline of 18/5/36, often weaving in and out of teamfights to bait out as many enemy cooldowns as possible. Proving to still be one of the best ADC's in the LPL, JackeyLove's efforts earned him the LPL Finals MVP award. 

Follow Strafe Esports for all the latest League news and our X account for the latest content and coverages. Also, stay tuned to Strafe YouTube for exclusive interviews, press conferences, and more.

Featured image source: LPL


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