It’s time for the League of Legends World Championships and the hype is already building as the LoL Worlds 2019 schedule has been completed. Group A looks extremely tough for all teams involved with G2, Griffin and Cloud9 all fighting for a spot in the playoffs.
The three teams all favour aggressive play styles which will only add to the already unpredictable nature of best-of-ones. Group A is going to be extremely close and thoroughly entertaining for fans to watch. Here is a little bit more about the three world class teams and who could potentially join them from the Play-Ins.
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Related: LoL Worlds Group B predictions
G2
Europe’s top seed have been dominant this year, not just domestically but also internationally as G2 became the first European team to win the Mid Season Invitational. The incredibly stacked roster has already been touted as the greatest Europe has ever produced but now it’s time for the G2 guys to do just that.
Some have claimed that G2’s MSI victory wasn’t as impressive as it sounds as they never defeated the reigning World Champions Invictus Gaming and this roster will have to wait a little longer to show they compete with the LPL as they have avoided China’s three seeds.
Though, this team has proven it can handle the LCK as G2 defeated South Korean champions SK Telecom T1 in a sensational five-game series earlier this season. That only makes their match-up with Griffin even more exciting. The two teams have had a social media romance of sorts throughout the year and the two teams will finally clash on a competitive stage.
It will be a tough ask as Griffin’s extremely talented squad have proven to be lethal in best-of-ones while G2 has historically struggled in Group Stages - they even lost to Team Liquid in the MSI groups which gives Cloud9 a glimmer of hope.
The European champions are better suited to best-of-fives but are undoubtedly good enough to top Group A. If they want to prove they’re World Champion-calibre, they will have to perform well from the start.
Griffin
Meanwhile for LCK’s number two seed, this is uncharted territory. This is the first time the organisation has qualified for an international tournament and the same is true for their young players.
Griffin’s roster is full of incredible talent, Lee "Tarzan" Seung-yong will give G2’s Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski a run for his money as the best jungler in the world. We’ve seen what this team is capable of, they’ve completely dominated the LCK at times.
Yet, Griffin’s inexperience shows. On more than one occasion, their young starlets have crumbled under the pressure of important games. They have dominated domestically, only to get crushed in the Playoff finals - the 3-0 loss to SKT in the Summer Split was difficult to watch.
Considering the immense failure of South Korea at last year’s World Championships, Griffin will be desperate to prove that the new generation of Korean talent can bring the Summoner’s Cup country back under their rule. While more eyes will be on SKT, there will still be high expectations for Griffin to go far too. There’s no doubt they’re good enough to do so, but whether they can handle the pressure is yet to be seen.
Cloud9
Cloud9 are not a team to be underestimated. They pushed Team Liquid to five games in the Summer Split Playoffs Final and historically, is the organisation from North America that always manages to perform the best internationally.
C9 managed to beat the odds last year by finishing above the then World Champions Gen.G before crushing Afreeca Freecs in the quarterfinals. Still, most eyes will be on G2 and Griffin in this group so their games against C9 could be the difference maker.
Play-in predictions
Whoever gets the fourth slot in this group is going to struggle. Of the top seeds from the Play-Ins, Hong Kong Attitude Attitude of the LMS is the only team that can be placed in this group. The LMS is in sharp decline and none of the other Wildcard teams would be likely to escape this group either though with best-of-ones, there is always the chance of an occasional upset.
Pictures: LoL Esports / Flickr
