I’m not even sure if anyone here even bothers to keep up with league anymore but Worlds 2019 is starting. Groups are

A:G2 Esports , Clown 9, Griffin (kr team) and TBD (whichever team gets through play ins).

B:FPX (China’s #1 seed) GAM (Vietnamese team) JT (idk which region JT is from or even what it’s actual name is) and TBD.

C:SKT (Faker and friends) Fnatic (RIP) RNG (Uzi and friends) and TBD.

D:Team Liquid (Steve definitely paid for this group draw) AHQ (I miss Westdoor) Invictus Gaming (last years victors but seem to be inting this year) and TBD.

Cloud 9 usually does well internationally but this year they lost Jensen so I don’t see them getting out of group A. G2 is really fucking good, Perkz and Caps are probably the best western players ever and they can flex pick in every lane so they’re pretty big favorites for the tournament after winning MSI earlier this year. Griffin is a KR team so they’re probably good but I didn’t watch LCK or LPL so my information is all second hand.

The only thing I know about Group B is that I hope Clutch Gaming (Na team) doesn’t get into it as GAM hard counters all NA teams.

Fnatic is probably fucked for group C, Skt and Rng both have better adcs and mids. While that may be over simplifying it the current meta is based a lot more around skirmishing and early game rather than good macro so better add/mid usually just wins.

If TL doesn’t get out of this group I don’t even know what to say.

 

don't be too quick to draw conclusions, TL can still get screwed by Damwon, the third korean team
Fnatic will be outpunched by RNG's bot lane, but rekkles is normally a pretty stable laner that can lose gracefully, xiaohu also hasn't looked very dominant recently, and RNG still hasn't truly gotten its top lane issues sorted

 

I've been following the LEC when I have the time, and a few LCS matches. Mostly G2, they were a really fun team this year.

I've watched World for the past four years, this year will be no different, though I won't watch all group matches.

I'm hoping an EU team can finally take the cup. Last year, we were close, and this year, we should have an even better chance.

C9 always makes it out of groups, except this year. Their luck has finally ran out. FNC is going to be a crapshoot, probably.

 

C is a fucking group of death and if Doublelift doesn't make it out of D he'll be meme'd to eternity and back.

Still, as a European fanboy I'm super excited for current fnatic and G2, and I hope one of them takes home the trophy in the end.

As for play-ins, Damwon will def. make it through and they can cause some serious damage. I have caught most of their split over at the LCK, and their solo laners have an incredible ceiling. Splyce can suck a dick. Such a frustratingly boring team.

China: RNG in Rekkles group, lol. FPX and Doinb got the chillest group ever. And FPX is actually the Chinese team I'm most interested in: rookies on an international stage, sure, but they looked really solid in their last two splits. IG: who knows. If TheShy shows up, sure, if he has a happy game, well fuck IG then lol. Still salty how they dumpstered fnatic last year.

As for Griffing: now that's an interesting one. They are somewhat being meme'd for choking in important matches, and Bo5s, given that they lost twice dominantly to SKT and once to Gen.G. Their splits, however, are pretty dominant, so there's some potential there for the Bo1s. It's hard to say how the roster will play on an international stage though, when the pressure is that much higher.

 

https://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/27699981/top-20-players-league-legends-world-championship

@Frantically Boosted

 

So like... How many shots did this man take when he wrote that?

 

Honestly it's not that bad a list given how the seasons have gone around the world. I'd argue that Tian deserves to be there as easily the best Chinese jungler and Tarzan probably deserves a spot but I've seen worse lists.

Tbh despite last year's world, Rookie had a really sub-par summer and I could see leaving him off the list.
--- Post automerged ---
Oh and lwx is really good too but he gets to lane with Crisp who is a beast so it's hard to put him there. There are too many good players this year.

 

The Worlds Song was releashed.



My immediate reaction is to dub it good, but weaker than the rest. However, I've said this before, but if Worlds Songs of the past have taught me anything it's that they creep up on me on repeat listens, are incredibly catching and have insane repeatibility. I like this one.

 

Mhh. It's not bad, but it's not that great either. The visuals are pretty good but the song itself didn't really have the punch. Overall, I liked the story telling in Rise much better. It was far more hype to see recognizable pro gamers as heroes, all climbing to the top.

Still, I'm so rdy for worlds. Group C looks delicious.

 

My first reaction to the new song was to go listen to RISE again. The new song was decent, I guess, but lacked any real impact.

As for play-ins... the expected teams made it in, and only Damwon has any chance to get out of groups (unless Group C really is that free).

 

Group C is the opposite of free. I suppose you mean B, the group Splyce has snaked its way into? I think that's pretty alright for Splyce. FPX will crush them, but the other two? Doubtful, but upsets can happen. Splyce is such a boring team to watch most of the time, it's hard to root for them.

Group D has gotten a lot spicier though with Damwon in the mix.

Edit: spicy for multiple reasons - revenge match between TL and IG; but also because the coach who made IG champions in 2018 is now the coach of Damwon. It's no surprise that Damwon looks similar to 2018 IG, that there are parellels between Nuguri and the Shy, or Rooki and Showmaker: the same focus and coaching methods that make monsters out of solo laners.

 

Yeah, B, my bad.

Time for (terrible) predictions! A: G2 and Griffin. B: FPX and ...anyone. C: SKT and FNC. D: Damwon and Liquid. ...A bit boring, but whatever.

 

Apparently the song is supposed to have better sound quality on Soundcloud rather than its compressed version on YT. Not sure, but there it is.

 

A: G2/*C9
B: FPX/Splyce
C: SKT/**FNC
D: DWG/***TL

*C9 - logic says it'll be Griffin, but history says C9. Griffin haven't proven themselves on the big stage yet and worlds after worlds, the US' hopes rest on the shoulders of C9. Will be interesting to see what they can do without Jensen.

**FNC - past matches between FNC and RNG say RNG will clap FNC. My heart as an EU-fan, however, is not swayed by such paltry matters of historical record.

***TL - that was pretty difficult, too. TL smashed IG during MSI. However, there is no doubt in my mind that IG in form would crush TL. TheShy, Rookie, Jackeylove, Baolan . . . when they're on, they're fucking on to a ridiculous degree. It all depends on form, though. IG has a new jungler, their 2018 worlds coach is with Damwon, Rookie had health issues in his family and took time off earlier this year, etc. There's a lot that might still impact IG. So TL it is, until I can better assess IG's current form.

 

The gigabyte Marines will make it to quarterfinals.

You heard it here first.

 

Let me just say, lolololololol @ FNC. That was quite a week 2 for EU. Very spicy.

 

The true master plan of SKT is to cuck RNG into the shadow realm by hard inting vs FNC.

 

As much as I want to play into the "kkoma is Fnatic's MVP" conspiracy, I don't want to take away from Fnatic's victories. They had one hell of a day. EUphoria is blasting now, in typical EU second week fashion. Let's enjoy it while it lasts.

 

I hate to be a dick to Fnatic, but I’m honestly convinced that SKT inted Fnatic. They seemed to play visibly worse than in every previous game, and basically seemed to be YOLO’ing it.

The other details line up too. CG have proven themselves to basically be a free win compared to others in the group, while RNG, the real threat that drew them to hard games both times, was already beaten. It might be my SKT-boner, but it feels like SKT just fucked over RNG in the most hilarious way possible.

That being said, Fnatic’s win over RNG really was impressive in its own right. But I really feel like this was a tactical move from SKT where they were guaranteed first seed either way.

 

Because intentionally throwing a game and risking the entire organization is definitely worth the small chance that RNG might be out in group stage.