Team Liquid and Top Esports are meeting on the big stage on the second day of League of Legends’ 2025 international debut First Stand tournament. While Top Esports is the favorite to win by a significant margin, smart betters who want to do their homework should consider the upset potential of Team Liquid.
After an excellent first day, Team Liquid will be on the stage again, this time against Top Esports. While Liquid is coming off of a win against Karmine Corp compared to Top Esports losing against Hanwha Life on the first day, TES is still the favorite to win this upcoming match, likely thanks to the difference in opposition faced to date.
Team Liquid won the LTA 2025 Cross-Conference tournament near the end of February while Top Esports’ last tournament was its win in the LPL Split 1 2025. With both teams having a fairly aggressive playing styles, everything may boil down to which team can win the bottom lane, especially after looking at how Liquid’s last few games just went.
Top Esports is considered one of the better League of Legends teams in the world, primarily thanks to its performance in tournaments like the Demacia Cups and at Worlds 2024. That isn’t to say Team Liquid is too far behind. Showcasing excellent skill in its match against Karmine Corp, Liquid likely surprised many fans by how united all its team members were in winning each lane in two of three games versus KC.
Arguably the biggest standout so far has been Team Liquid’s bot laner, Sean “Yeon” Sung. His poking abilities and knowledge on know when to not overstay a push enabled Liquid to win the bottom lane in all three games versus Karmine Corp. Much of Liquid’s defense will likely revolve around the top lane, considering that’s where the team fell apart in the second game, resulting in KC rolling its opposition by capitalizing on the opportunity up top.
On the other hand, Top Esports will have to play more aggressively if it wants to stop Liquid from getting an early advantage. The turning point in both games against Hanwha Life was when Hanwha sent multiple players to overwhelm individual lanes. By the 12-minute mark, four members of Hanwha Life were in Top Esports’ bot-lane during the second game, overwhelming the Chinese side and setting HLE up for victory.
Below are the rosters for both teams in the upcoming match:
Team Liquid
Top Esports
Thanks to the fearless draft system, neither team can utilize the same sets of champions every game. Fans can therefore expect to see a number of rotating champion picks. Starting with Team Liquid, picks like Xin Zhao, Azir, Taliyah, Nautilus, and Rumble are to be expected along with other picks depending on whether the match goes to the third and final game.
On the other hand, Top Esports also has multiple common champions it falls back on. These include Gnar, Vi, Orianna, Miss Fortune, Ashe, and Rell. Considering how Team Liquid did such an excellent job with Varus, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the team’s support, Liu “Crisp” Qingsong, opts to go for a tanky champion like Tahm Kench.
Team Liquid and Top Esports have faced off against each other once before in a best-of-five during the Mid Season Invitational playoffs in May 2024. Top Esports convincingly defeated Liquid with a final score of 3-0, not giving the American team a chance. TL will look for a different results here, nearly a year later.
While Team Liquid won its last match and Top Esports lost, that hasn’t sopped TES from being set as the favorite. Top Esports’ 1.12 odds compared to Team Liquid’s 5.80 make Liquid the definitive underdogs going into the match.
Even though Team Liquid is the underdog in this match, it’s in no way a weak team. Its aggressive plays and extremely strong bot-lane control may be enough to quickly capture the first game, especially since Top Esports is likely to take things slower, similar to how things were against Hanwha Life. The second game will depend on whether TES can adapt to the opposing team’s aggressive plays.
Karmine Corp reacted to the first loss by playing more aggressively, winning the top lane before Yeon could get strong enough to deal significant damage via bot. This eventually snowballed into a defeat for Liquid in that particular game. On the other hand, Top Esports couldn’t form a successful strategy against Hanwha Life’s aggressive play, losing both games in succession. This lack of adaptability from the favorites may make Team Liquid a smarter betting pick given the immense winnings potential in this underdog selection.
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