Now that the play-in stages have been solidified for the 2019 League of Legends World Championship, the final 16 teams have been decided as they look to start their campaigns for international supremacy. DAMWON Gaming, Clutch Gaming, Splyce and Hong Kong Attitude have all qualified through to the next rounds and several groups have already been drastically altered to make this one of the most competitive group stages we’ve seen in years.
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In this group stage breakdown, we will highlight the projected winners of each group while also taking into account the other dark horse(s) teams within the group capable of mounting an upset. The Worlds 2019 group stages gets underway tomorrow morning on October 12.
Read Also: LoL Worlds 2019 Predictions
Group A is without a doubt one of the top heavy groups in this competition, but the addition of Hong Kong attitude slotted in at the fourth spot will make the 2nd and 3rd place games all the more crucial for whichever team doesn’t make it through at the number one spot.
G2 Esports have an obvious advantage being crowned MSI champions and back-to-back LEC champions, but both Griffin and Cloud9 have displayed adept levels of team fighting potential and accelerated macro play when given the opportunity to lead a game. Last year, Cloud9 found a winning formula against Korean teams as they became the first North American team to 3-0 a Korean team at an international competition.
This time around, Cloud9 aren’t facing Afreeca Freeca but rather a revitalized Griffin gaming that are hoping to make their first outing at the World Championships a special one. When it comes to the head-to-head between teams, both junglers for C9 and Griffin possess the skills to put themselves over for their team, but the most critical matchup stems from mid lane and Chovy has proven he is leaps and bounds ahead of other Korean mid laners, he should be able to comfortably put himself ahead of Nisqy whenever they cross paths
With Splyce rounding out the group in Group B, this grouping of teams could very well be seen as the ‘group of life’ once you take FPX out of the equation. FunPlus Phoenix’s pedigree as a team put themselves several spots ahead of their group opponents, and they should ideally seek to end this group stage round robin undefeated as they pick up valuable experience en route to the knockout stages.
For the rest of the group, Splyce and GAM Esports find themselves neck and neck in terms of player ability and allocated resources for this tournament. Vietnam has forced their way into the international conversation for LoL with their constant high ranking performances in international competition. This contest to make it out of groups will be their most trying test yet as the LMS’ J Team can also put a monkey wrench in their plans if they are not careful.
While this may not be the most stacked group from team to team, there is a good chance that the second place roster to qualify behind FPX can gain valuable experience by facing a slew of different styles in the opening group stage. The name of the game for both Splyce and GAM Esports will be strength in numbers as they will need emphatic performances from their solo lanes to truly merit themselves a place in the knockout rounds.
© LoLEsports
If Group B can be considered the group of life, Group C is undoubtedly the group of death. When it comes to bot lane potential, there is no group being hotly contested as Group C with Rekkles, Uzi, Teddy and Cody Sun all playing at peak levels heading into this tournament.
SK Telecom are the obvious favorite given their depth across all five roles this year. Faker is officially back in his prime and has commanded an interesting champion pool centered around assassins and his patented mages in order to succeed, and when he isn’t on the ball the rest of the team is always in a position to pick up the slack.
But they are not out of the woods completely when looking at the caliber of opponents they will soon face. Fnatic seem to have found their stride in the Summer playoffs for LEC and their wacky team compositions and unique playstyle could pose serious problems for both RNG and SKT if not properly scouted. RNG face a slightly uphill battle on the back of finding a long term winning strategy that involves multiple carries shouldering the load.
To win games at the highest level at Worlds, confidence in your team is crucial to survival and the head-to-head between Europe and China in this group will be one of the most talked about storylines coming into this group stage.
Group D breaks down into another hotly contested group as representatives from China, South Korea and North America all pose significant threats to each other’s successes. Team Liquid comes into this tournament with the most consistency of any team in the group, but their regions lack of strength could once again prove fatal to TL if they are overcome with nerves in this group stage.
DAMWON Gaming enjoyed a breezy play-in stage that saw them pick up wins in every game played, but the level of competition has surely increased in this group and DWG must be weary of the threat. Luckily, the hubris that plagued Korea at last years World Championship has seemingly left the building and all players on this roster are humble and ready to perform.
Invictus Gaming are a tough team to gauge in this group as their star players from last year are still on the roster, but the overall nucleus of the team isn’t the same. Having a rookie jungler playing with IG for the past three months isn’t the most ideal situation to win another title, but TheShy and Rookie are more than capable of mounting another charge if TL and DWG don’t provide the proper game plan to stifle their threats.
Did you like this article? If so, you might also enjoy this: League of Legends Worlds Betting Odds.
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