FunPlus Phoenix Benches Nuguri, Promotes xiaolaohu to Starting Lineup
The recent Weibo post by FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) has confirmed that Nuguri, the 2020 League of Legends world champion, has been benched. According to a translation by LPL journalist Ran, FPX will temporarily promote FPX Blaze top laner Ping “xiaolaohu” Xiao-Hu to their starting LPL lineup. Xiao-Hu, an 18-year-old top laner, has shown great performance in the LDL this year, finishing the 2021 Spring Split with an impressive record of 21 wins and four losses. Despite his team’s loss in the playoffs finals against Young Miracles, Xiao-Hu showcased his skills.
However, FPX (5-3) has recently faced setbacks in the 2021 LPL Summer Split, losing their last two best-of-three series against Bilibili Gaming and Invictus Gaming. Nuguri’s performance was not up to par in these matches and lacked the necessary impact. With half of the split already completed, FPX aims to make changes to their roster and prepare for the playoffs to avoid being overtaken by other teams in the standings.
FPX’s upcoming match is against LGD Gaming (5-4), scheduled for tomorrow. Despite LGD’s loss to Royal Never Give Up in their previous match, they have managed to secure victories against other top-tier teams. Led by former MAD Lions jungler Shad0w, LGD has shown significant improvement compared to the previous split and could pose a tough challenge for FPX.
LGD and FPX will compete on July 9 at 6am CT.
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