FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) vs. Bilibili Gaming (BLG) Preview & Prediction - Free 6/12 LPL Betting Picks

On the alternate end of the recent monumental -2500 upset, Funplus Phoenix is reeling from an unexpected loss to an LNG team who looked anything but capable of doing so heading into that match. Now looking to right the ship to FPX standards, they draw BiliBili Gaming in hopes of making that errand a quick duty to even out at 1-1.

However, BiliBili personifies and embodies dark horse upset MO, and doing so against this FPX team would not only fit their bill[i] from recent past but send this Phoenix team into a frantic 0-2 tailspin to start the split.

Bookmakers expectedly lean heavy on FPX as -575 favorites (per Bovada), while BLG is a +355 dog with a favored under 2.5 rounds at -210 payout insinuating a sweep (FPX is -145 on the -1.5 rounds).

Team Comparisons & Points of Interest

FPX floundered their opportunity against what was considered to be a weakling LNG squad, sparking questions about their best-of-three capabilities in matches they’re touted as favorites. LNG plays with nothing to lose, as most wins they achieve tend to be inclusive of surprise as well.

However, regardless of the recency bias against FPX as a heavy favorite, BiliBili Gaming provides little justification for investment on paper, after being slaughtered in their first match with Vici Gaming in a 0-2 sweep. Their inability to manufacture kills while failing to mitigate deaths of their own is an apparent problem dating back to last split, although one two-game match as a sample size is anything shy of shallow measure.

FPX has also been known to bounce back from unexpected losses during regular season play, but with their studs Doinb and LWX playing an abysmal series against such a subpar opponent causes reasons for extended concern.

Pick: BiliBili Gaming +1.5 Rounds (+105 @ Bovada)

Regardless of the slopfest to critique them by, FPX is still justifiably among the flagship team offerings across the LPL, finishing the Spring split as a top four offense with 15.2 kills per game and 6.3 towers killed per game.

BiliBili Gaming was mutually as capable in tower capabilities, averaging 6.2 TPG as a plus-sided ratio to their 5.7 lost on average in Spring. Kill-death ratio of 11.7/12.5 also indicates that BG isn’t long-removed from producing some middling stat lines warranting some entertainable intrigue on the side of the underdog.

Both team identies marred in fog, I think BLG has some fight under stones of last season unturned yet this summer, and a challenge like FPX should be the one to pry it out from them.