G2 Esports, SKT, Liquid among teams in LoL Worlds 2019 main event

The 2019 League of Legends World Championship commences on October 2nd with the intense play-in stage, where twelve ambitious squads will battle fiercely for coveted positions in the main event bracket.

This year’s premier international competition assembles the absolute elite of professional League, where every participant possesses the capability to secure victory on any given competitive day.

The diminishing performance differential between Eastern and Western professional organizations transforms this into the most thrilling and unpredictable World Championship to date. While historical patterns suggested Korean dominance over all opposition, each competing region now introduces distinctive strategic approaches to this year’s global showdown.

The era of rigid metagame conformity has conclusively ended. Each professional organization arrives with unique tactical philosophies, champion priorities, and game phase execution methods. Even when strategic frameworks appear aligned during matches, teams consistently demonstrate their individual competitive advantages.

Unlike the 2017 Ardent Censer-dominated landscape, current meta conditions remain exceptionally adaptable and can undergo significant transformation between individual games. Every qualified main event participant contributes innovative and compelling elements to the competitive environment.

G2 Esports arrives at the 2019 World Championship as the undisputed European powerhouse and current Mid-Season Invitational titleholders. As LEC’s top seed, they dominated the summer competitive season through relentless aggression and creative strategic approaches.

Throughout their summer campaign, G2 consistently demonstrated extraordinary player versatility through frequent role swapping and unconventional champion selections. Their strategic possibilities appear limitless, with the roster demonstrating rapid adaptation capabilities that establish them among the most challenging opponents at Worlds. Predicting their next strategic maneuver proves nearly impossible for opposing teams.

The organization pursues their first League of Legends World Championship trophy, building upon their MSI triumph. Their flexible draft philosophy and willingness to experiment with unconventional compositions make them particularly dangerous in best-of series formats.

Fnatic approaches the World Championship with substantial motivation and something to prove. As Europe’s secondary representative, they aspire to ascend to the competitive summit.

They came remarkably close last competitive season, reaching the 2018 World Championship finals before falling to Invictus Gaming. This year, Origen disrupted their spring finals opportunity while G2 defeated them during summer playoffs in particularly disheartening fashion. As G2 celebrated their victory, Martin “Rekkles” Larsson remained seated, visibly emotional and overwhelmed by the defeat.

Fnatic aims to dismantle G2’s emerging dynasty before it fully establishes itself. This organization refuses to accept secondary status, viewing Worlds as the ultimate platform to assert European supremacy. With intensified global competition, Fnatic confronts significant challenges throughout the tournament.

Following the most disappointing competitive year in organizational history during 2018, SK Telecom T1 underwent comprehensive roster reconstruction. The team overhauled their starting lineup while retaining only Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, constructing an entirely new squad around the legendary mid lane superstar.

SKT captured the spring championship and represented the LCK at MSI. The squad advanced to semifinals where they succumbed to G2, partially attributable to underwhelming performances from jungler Kim “Clid” Tae-min. Clid and SKT returned to Korean competition visibly affected and commenced the summer season with five consecutive defeats.

Ultimately, SKT qualified for playoffs and became the inaugural organization to complete the entire playoff gauntlet undefeated, claiming the split championship. SKT has returned to competitive form and positions themselves favorably to pursue their fourth World Championship title.

Griffin has maintained prominence within the global competitive consciousness throughout the past year. The emerging organization demonstrated exceptional performance within the LCK and catalyzed comprehensive regional evolution, yet has struggled to translate domestic success into international achievement.

Nevertheless, many anticipate Griffin as the potential catalyst for reestablishing Korean League of Legends supremacy. This hypothesis remains unverified, as the LCK has previously witnessed similarly promising teams falter, exemplified by Longzhu Gaming’s historical performance.

If any LCK representative can navigate the rapidly evolving competitive landscape and counter the European threat, it’s Griffin. Their youthful confidence manifests through audacious plays and calculated risks that more established organizations might avoid.

Griffin presents ideal opposition for European squads, and they likely anticipate nothing less than championship victory.

FunPlus Phoenix secured the LPL’s primary seed following their Summer Split championship victory. Similar to Griffin, they’ve exhibited moments of competitive brilliance on numerous occasions while experiencing several significant competitive setbacks throughout their journey. Unlike their Korean counterparts, FunPlus successfully captured a championship title by defeating Royal Never Give Up.

Mid lane specialist Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang and jungler Gao “Tian” Tian-Liang function as the team’s primary leaders. Doinb maintains recognition throughout the LPL for his unconventional champion preferences and innovative itemization approaches.

This organization thrives on combat engagement and calculated aggression, consistently demonstrating maximum commitment on the Summoner’s Rift. From enthusiastic crowd interactions to inventive draft strategies, FunPlus represents a compelling Chinese representative to monitor throughout this competitive year.

Royal Never Give Up’s competitive legacy remains unquestionable. Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao continues functioning as the team’s primary star, with RNG intensifying their bottom lane focus beyond previous competitive seasons. The organization enters LoL Worlds as the secondary seed following their LPL grand finals defeat against FunPlus Phoenix.

A World Championship title represents the sole missing achievement in RNG’s trophy collection currently. The team conquered MSI during 2018 and secured consecutive LPL championships that identical competitive year. They approached the golden competitive path, yet stumbled during quarterfinals versus G2. RNG undoubtedly seeks competitive retribution against their European adversaries at Worlds.

RNG stands among the limited number of Worlds participants maintaining bottom lane-centric strategic approaches. This tactical foundation could potentially precipitate their competitive downfall, or alternatively serve as their championship-winning formula this season.

Invictus Gaming arrives as defending world champions, yet their qualification journey proved exceptionally challenging. The organization narrowly secured LPL playoff qualification, where LNG Esports promptly eliminated them.

Leveraging championship points accumulated during spring, Invictus qualified for regional finals where they confronted JD Gaming and Top Esports. Both competitive series featured chaotic gameplay with perplexing strategic decisions and questionable tactical executions.

Invictus ultimately secured 2019 World Championship qualification, yet they encounter formidable opposition. Their prospects for consecutive championship victories appear statistically improbable.

Regardless of personal affinity, Team Liquid maintains recognition as North America’s premier competitive organization. No alternative regional roster approaches Liquid’s competitive caliber.

This competitive year, they’ve established ambitions transcending regional dominance limitations. They previously reached MSI finals and aim to improve upon that achievement at Worlds. Team Liquid represents the organizational archetype capable of leveraging any strategic lane to secure victory, though their primary carry remains bottom laner Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng. Their principal challenge involves countering unconventional compositions from opposing teams while introducing strategic surprises of their own.

Considering their established competitive history, dismissing Team Liquid remains challenging. Global competitive enthusiasts will maintain focused observation on the organization.

For the initial occasion since 2016, Cloud9 bypasses the play-in stage, qualifying directly for the main competitive event.

C9 presents analytical challenges for competitive observers, enthusiasts, and opposing organizations alike. They execute both aggressive and conservative strategic approaches while drafting conventional and innovative team compositions. C9 additionally maintains the organizational identity consistently finishing second within LCS competition, yet demonstrating successful international performance history. C9’s domestic results provide unreliable indicators of their current international competitive level.

C9’s strategic identity and competitive success predominantly depend upon jungler Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen. When Svenskeren performs effectively, the organization thrives competitively. C9 entrusts the LCS Summer MVP to guide their advancement beyond the initial group stage.

J Team makes their inaugural World Championship appearance as the LMS’s primary representative. The organization completed their regular season undefeated while conceding only one game throughout playoff competition.

Mid laner Chu “FoFo” Chun-Lan, bottom laner Chen “Lilv” Chin-Han, and top laner Hsu “Rest” Shih-Chieh collectively accumulated eighteen MVP awards during the competitive season. J Team doesn’t prioritize flashy gameplay, instead focusing on their competitive strengths with consistent execution.

Although J Team originates from a smaller competitive region, underestimating the LMS proves unwise. They aim to perpetuate the overachievement trajectory previously established by Flash Wolves.

Ahq e-Sports Club returns to the World Championship stage following their 2018 competitive misstep that prevented international participation.

Ahq and the LMS currently navigate significant competitive identity challenges. The region’s historically dominant organization, Flash Wolves, experiences competitive difficulties, leaving representation to Ahq, J Team, and Hong Kong Attitude.

The organization relies upon jungler and Summer MVP Chen “Alex” Yu-Ming to facilitate deep tournament advancement. While lacking the brand recognition of most competing organizations, Ahq possesses legitimate potential to defeat established competitive squads.

Remain vigilant, as the GIGABYTE Marines continue thriving competitively under their rebranded identity as GAM Esports. GAM dominated VCS competition following the return of exceptional talent and summer MVP Đỗ “Levi” Duy Khánh.

The organization shares numerous competitive similarities with G2 Esports, particularly regarding their capacity to draft apparently unconventional team compositions. Garen and Yuumi bottom lane with Tristana mid lane? GAM handles such strategic challenges comfortably. They extend their innovative approaches further through champion selections like Kled for map-wide strategic pressure.

The current competitive environment favors GAM and their characteristically aggressive strategic philosophy. Underestimating the Vietnamese competitive representative would constitute significant strategic miscalculation for any opponent.

The principal competitive event initiates on October 12th.

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