This article has been prepared by John “TheEsportsPlug” George, an esports daily fantasy player, bettor, and former professional poker player.
The World Championship is upon us once again, and as is tradition, it’s time for the Power Rankings. With teams coming from all around the globe with play styles ranging from Funplus Phoenix to Splyce and legacies ranging from SKT to Mammoth, it’s time we sat down and had a good hard look at who and what these teams are.
I think it’s hard to argue this isn’t the most talented group of teams we’ve ever had at a World Championship. There are so many storylines to follow and so many unknowns to be revealed. It just a great time to be a League of Legends fan.
Around the world, hopes are high in Europe after an MSI victory. NA finds a diamond in the rough and some plucky underdogs after a terrible home split. Korea returns to form ready to avenge their underwhelming 2018 campaign. China sends over two teams that might even be better than their reigning world champions. In the emerging regions we find seven-year veterans and superteams, fearless young rookies and globetrotters who have made their way home.
But who is primed to lift the Summoners Cup?
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#24 Mammoth
Top: Fudge/Topoon
Jungle: Babip
Mid: Triple
Adc: K1ng
Support: Destiny
Ahh, the Australians. I love Australian teams. It seems like every year we count them out and every year they give us some of the best games of the play-ins. This squad shouldn’t be any different. There are, perhaps, not any two more famous OCE players than King and Triple, and Destiny is coming into his second Worlds with some experience under his belt. The top portion of the map for Mammoth is one that most international viewers won’t know, but I’ll tell you, there’s talent here.
It’s a bit of a shame that the competition at this Worlds is the highest in history as far as I’m concerned, because the combination of individual skill and experience along with a really smart coaching staff make this a formidable team, but they are just outmatched on this stage. I expect Mammoth to win at least a game or two though, and I’m excited to see how they can affect the event.
#23 MEGA
Top: Rockky
Jungle: Lloyd
Mid: G4
ADC: DeuL
Support: PoP
Talk about another team that has some serious legends of the game in their back pocket. Lloyd and G4 go back to a Bangkok Titans team that had a lot of wind at their backs heading into the 2015 World Championship. This team has done just the right things with its roster, adding young hopefuls Deul and PoP from the LCK challenger team Ever 8 Winners (and most recently Machi for PoP). It’s a smart move: pair some young, talented guys with some grizzled veterans and let them lend their expertise to the youngsters.
It looked like it might be a stretch for this squad to makeWorlds coming out of the regular season but a dominant playoff performance didn’t even really put any sweat on their brows. My main issue with MEGA is simply mechanics. I think this team lacks mechanically against almost every team they’ll encounter and when you are playing at the highest level of the game that’s going to be tough to overcome.
#22 Detonation FocusME
Top: Evi
Jungle: Steal
Mid: Ceros
ADC: Yutapon
Support: Gaeng
The most famous organization from Japan makes their return to the world stage, and while Japan has yet to really make its mark on the international scene, this isn’t a team that is going to play scared. Almost every member of DFM has made Worlds appearances before, with only their import Gaeng making his debut at this event. DFM had a strong regular season, ending on 17 wins and only 4 losses, and their finals showing was very strong. Though they did lose a game in the finals, it felt like a classic “we are better, but you had a good strategy for game one” type situation.
The good news is this is probably the best squad Japan has ever sent to Worlds comparatively, but the bad news is that it’s still the Japanese representative and Japan just isn’t on the same level as the rest of the world just yet. They aren’t the worst region heading to Worlds and they are definitely on an upward trend, but I don’t think it’s Japan’s year to make the playoffs quite yet. I’d say a main event showing would still be something to cheer for the Japanese gents, but I’ll expect them to bow out in the play-ins.
#21 Lowkey Esports
Top: Hani
Jungle: DNK
Middle: Artifact
ADC: Celebrity
Support: Venus
Lowkey is a team I’m really glad is making an appearance at Worlds this year. They’re a team of first-timers along with Venus (Young Generation in 2017) who aren’t as polished or even mechanically talented as a lot of the other hopefuls coming through the play-ins, but they’ve got heart and uniqueness. Lowkey is a team who isn’t afraid to be themselves, and they pick, ban, and play like it. We should see some fun stuff and some really exciting games from this unit, and while I don’t think we’ll see them in the main event, they will be a fun team to follow.
The VCS suffers from the same syndrome as the LMS many seasons. They often have a one seed that is significantly stronger than their other teams, and end up putting their real faith on one team most years. I don’t see that being any different this year, but I’m happy it’s Lowkey making the appearance.
#20 Hong Kong Attitude
Top: 3z
Jungle: Crash
Mid: M1ssion
ADC: Unified
Support: Kaiwing
HKA are an old friend in some new clothes. While the names on this squad aren’t generally ones that pop out to a lot of fans, this is mostly a team we’ve seen before on the international stage. M1ssion, Unified, and Kaiwing all appeared at the 2017 World Championship, and while they were felled by a monster of a Fnatic squad before we got a chance to see them on the main stage, there is some pedigree here. The core of HKA have added in Crash, who many might remember from the 1907 Fenerbahce team who played in that same 2017 play-in. In the top lane they add 3z who is new to Worlds but has played internationally at Rift Rivals in the past.
Long story short is that HKA is a bit of an enigma. They have talent in every lane, and a number of players that can take over a game if given the right situation, but have consistently under-performed what I’d expect from a team with their talent. A .500 record in the LMS isn’t much to brag about internationally and I don’t expect to see them in the main event, but if they want to find themselves there they’ll need a step forward from their mid and top lane, as I think Crash and the bot lane are playing at a level that gives them a puncher’s chance.
#19 AHQ e-Sports Club
Top: Ziv
Jungle: Alex/Husha
Mid: Apex
ADC: Wako
Support: Ysera
AHQ is a staple of the LMS that we’ve seen many times before, but this roster comes with a bit of fresh blood. Only Ziv makes a return to the Worlds stage, having been there before in 2015 (losing to Faker’s SKT in the playoffs), 2016, and 2017. The rest of the team will be making their first trip, but unfortunately for them, I think they’ll find themselves in mostly the same boat as previous versions of the squad. I’ve said before that I think the LMS as a whole has taken a step back in recent years, and AHQ has always been kind of the definitive team for that statement. While the first seed in the LMS has found success, the rest of the region has traditionally struggled, and it’s hard to get too excited about their prospects here.
It’s a little easier to pumped up about a team that went undefeated in the LMS, but AHQ found themselves in second with a record of only seven wins and five losses. In a region whose overall strength is currently a bit lacking, that doesn’t generate a lot of faith for me. They did manage to win a game in the finals, but there wasn’t really a specific lane or strategy or metric where I felt like AHQ was bringing something to the table that was better than J-Team. They should be capable of an upset victory, but making the playoff stage would be an over-achievement from this team in my opinion.
#18 Isurus Gaming
Top: Buggax
Jungle: Oddie
Mid: Seiya
ADC: Warangelus
Support: Slow
Isurus has tried to put together a real Latin American super team here with players from various different teams that casual fans might have heard of. Buggax played on ISG in summer 2018, Oddie comes in from a Rainbow 7 team who played the 2018 Mid Season Invitational and is formerly of Lyon, where he made a Worlds run. Along with Oddie comes Seiya, but in the bot lane they add in Warangelus from Rebirth and Slow, who most people will know from the dynasty that was Kaos Latin Gamers.
All things considered, the combination of regions has done well for Latin America, and they’ve put up a team here that has both experience and individual talent. Like DFM, they finished at seventeen wins and four losses in the regular season but made quick work of the playoffs, losing only one game. Latin America is putting up the best team they’ve ever sent to Worlds and I’m really excited to see what they can show. The Latin American regions were starting to wilt when they were separated and it’s going to be up to Isurus to tell us whether they are back and ready to contend for the main stage again.
#17 Flamengo eSports
Top: Robo
Jungle: Shrimp
Mid: Goku
ADC: BrTT
Support: Luci
A new look for some old faces with Flamengo eSports. Anyone who watched CBLoL in spring knows that Flamengo was absolutely dominant. They were the clear favorite to make a showing at MSI, and there was a lot of hope for them as a real contender coming out of Brazil. A surprise loss in the finals to INTZ denied them, and they’ll be happy to finally bring this group to the international stage together. I say together because this is a team that will have some name value to most people.
Robo has been in the CBLOL since 2015. Luci started in the LSPL and played in Challengers Korea before making the transition. Goku has been a top Brazilian midlaner for years and they round out the gang with two people most fans of any region will know. BrTT is among the most legendary Brazilian players of all time and a real face of the game in Brazil. It won’t be his first World Championship, but more impressively he’s been playing at the highest levels of the game since 2012. Not a lot of players who can say that. Last but not least is Shrimp. From Team Coast, overseas to Detonation FocusME, back to the US for his biggest run on Dignitas, over to Flyquest, and then down to Brazil to join Flamengo, Shrimp has been everywhere.
This is a team of veterans who shouldn’t be intimidated on the world stage, and I have them neck and neck for making a run to the main event. Flamengo is a dark horse with so much veteran savvy that they could steal a main event spot if things go just right for them. There will definitely be some tense games involving Flamengo, Isurus, and a few of the teams slightly further up the list.
#16 Unicorns of Love
Top: BOSS
Jungle: AhahaCiK
Mid: Nomanz
Adc: Innaxe
Support: Edward
The CIS is one of the few emerging regions that I think is on an upward trajectory. In fact, I think a lot of the smaller European leagues are growing leaps and bounds in the last few years, and this Unicorns team is going to be representative of that. The majority of these players might be recognized from their MSI play-in run on Vega Squadron. After switching teams and adding Armenian legend Edward, as well as Innaxe from XL.UK, the former EU LCS brand will make their first showing at Worlds.
I have high hopes for UOL, as I think the style of play in the LCL is one that translates pretty well onto the world stage. They aren’t an overly aggressive region, but they walk a good balance between calculation and aggression, which I think gives them the ability to wait out aggressive teams, but also pressure teams who are just trying to handshake their way to late game. CIS is always one of my favorite regions to watch, and I hope we get to see the Unicorns and their rabid fan base on the main stage.
#15 Royal Youth
Top: Armut
Jungle: Closer
Mid: Cyeol
ADC: Pilot
Support: Tolerant
Rare at this World Championship are teams composed entirely of newcomers to the big stage, but here we find a really exciting specimen from Turkey. Turkey has created a pro scene you wouldn’t expect from a country not generally known for their esports pedigree. We’ve seen it in previous splits with Royal Bandits, 1907 Fenerbahce and Supermassive. Coming into summer, I think most people would have said we’d see one of those teams going to Worlds again but it was a plucky group with an imported mid and former LCK ADC that found their way to the top. They played a nail-biting final with Supermassive for the right to be here, and I expect a big performance from the Royal Youth.
What could hold this team back is merely inexperience. There are an awful lot of factors at a major international tournament like this. The stress, the lifestyle at one of these events, the travel. I hope Royal Youth really get a chance to show what they are capable of, because this is a main event team at their best. They will have to battle teams like Isurus, UOL, and Flamengo for that opportunity, but Royal Youth grade out as a favorite to make the cut.
#14 GAM Esports
Top: Zeros
Jungle: Levi
Mid: Kiaya/ Yoshino
ADC: Zin
Support: Slay/Hieu3
This is a team I think a lot of people are going to be happy to see return to the world stage. The former Gigabyte Marines may have changed their names, but they haven’t changed the stuff that will matter to the fans. Looking at this team’s positional history is like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube as they play a variety of players at various positions based on matchup and champion pool needs, but the one constant is fan-favorite Levi. After a worldwide trek with 100 Thieves in NA and JD Gaming over in China, Levi returns home, to the team where he made his name. Most people will remember the Nocturne funnel before it was cool that really put the Marines on the map, and I expect you’ll see some similarly exciting stuff from GAM Esports this year.
Alongside Levi, you may recognize Zeros. Zeros has always been a feast or famine top laner who has the ability to hard carry or solo lose games for his team. He’s a perfect addition to the insane top lane talent pool we are going to have in this event. The rest of the squad will be making their first trip to the World Championship, but I’m not too worried about nerves from the Vietnamese squad. GAM is the perfect example of what I want from a smaller region team: aggressive, volatile playing strategies that can come out of left field. That’s the recipe for upsetting the major region teams, and I like GAM to do some damage on that front. I don’t expect them to have a real shot at winning the tournament, but they could certainly decide a group, or throw a wrench in the plans of a potential winner.
#13 Clutch Gaming
Top: Huni
Jungle: Lira
Mid: Damonte
ADC: CodySun
Support: Vulcan
What a story we got this season from Clutch Gaming. They were a team that constantly frustrated me because of their above-average level of talent for NA, but constant under-performance. It seems it might have just been a coaching change that was needed for them, as switching around the staff in the middle of the split led to a Cinderella run with some of the best series we’ve seen in North America this year, ultimately ending with Clutch defeating the evil empire of TSM three to two in the NA gauntlet.
The key for Clutch is teamwork and champion pool. The players are extremely skilled, and while they play a wide variety of champions, they have only had success on a select portion of them. If this team practices some set-piece type compositions and forces opponents to be scared of more than a few champions at each position, they could make a real run. I think of them similarly to Vitality from last year: a team who is capable of picking up a win from anyone in the tournament, but isn’t a favorite for a real run without some adjustments. They’ll be a huge fan favorite at the event, and I hope they make a run of it.
#12 J Team
Top: Rest
Jungle: Hana
Mid: FoFo
Adc: LilV
Support: Koala
J Team is a classic Worlds conundrum that we’ll run into a number of times on this list. How do you judge a team who was absolutely dominant in their home region, but comes from a region that doesn’t rate very well internationally? The LMS garnered a lot of attention in the earlier years of League of Legends, mostly on the back of some very strong international performances from the Flash Wolves. Aside from that main Flash Wolves roster, though, the LMS has never really been that strong of a region. We’ve seen performances here and there from other LMS seeds, but for the most part it’s a region is falling more than it is rising.
That said, J Team absolutely destroyed the region in summer, undefeated in the regular season with twelve wins and then dropping only a single game in the finals. Fans may remember Koala, who makes his return to Worlds after a run last year as part of the G-rex squad who found themselves in the main event.
Overall, I expect J team to be the only real contender coming out of the LMS, but I still use the term “contender” loosely. They should be competitive, and an upset victory or two isn’t out of the question, but I can’t imagine them reaching the top four. They should represent the region well and I’m excited to see whether the LMS can turn around its trajectory in the coming years.
#11 Cloud9
Top: Licorice
Jungle: Svenskeren
Mid: Nisqy
ADC: Sneaky
Support: Zeyzal
There’s good news and bad news for Cloud 9 fans coming into this World Championship. The good news is that their switch to Nisqy was a huge success, as far as I’m concerned. Many people assumed that going from Jensen to Nisqy was a downgrade, but I was a huge fan of Nisqy in the EU LCS, and he’s been an absolute monster for C9, adding new variables with a weird champion pool and carry potential. Also in the good news camp is that Cloud9 just has a wild habit of always making Worlds. At times this seemed like a season where it looked like they could miss the cut, but they found their way here and don’t have to mess around with the play-in this time so we are guaranteed to see Cloud9 on the main stage.
The bad news is I think this is the worst overall squad Cloud9 has ever sent to Worlds compared to their competition. I predicted them to absolutely destroy AFS last year, and was as excited as anyone when they followed through and found themselves in the semifinals, but this year I think we’ll see them bow out in the group stage. Sneaky and Zeyzal aren’t playing at the level they were last year, and Svenskeren hasn’t been as good as the awards he’s received might lead you to believe. The even bigger issue is that Licorice hasn’t been the clear best top laner in the LCS, either. I’m just not sure where this team goes to get advantages against the other elite teams, and I don’t think they’ll have the kind of success this year that we’ve become accustomed to.
#10 Splyce
Top: Vizicsacsi
Jungle: Xerxe
Mid: Humanoid
ADC: Kobbe
Support: Norskeren
Splyce isn’t going to get the kind of coverage that their LEC brethren Fnatic and G2 will, and for good reason, but people also seem to be undervaluing a team that was definitively the third best team in the region in the summer split. The loss to Rogue absolutely destroyed the reputation of Splyce, but if you remove that series, then you are left with an extremely successful season from a team with a great history of finding a way to win.
The biggest weaknesses for this team is going to be Norskeren and Vizicsacsi for me. Norskeren is a support who I think has very high potential, but he’s the kind of player who wants to engage a lot, trusting his ability to make big plays. When you are suddenly playing on the “late game kings,” that style of supporting hasn’t really found a fit, in my opinion. Csacsi is known for his tendency to accrue isolated deaths, but it does often come to the benefit of his team in the form of objectives. Overall, Splyce should find the play-ins very beatable, but we can’t expect much from them in the main event, should they find themselves there.
#9 Team Liquid
Top: Impact
Jungle: Xmithie
Mid: Jensen
ADC: Doublelift
Support: CoreJJ
Despite the insanely close finals in both splits, it has been pretty clear that Team Liquid was the great NA hope for this World Championship. They’ve been head and shoulders better than the other NA teams, and if North America wants to make a run, this is their champion.
Team Liquid is maybe the biggest wildcard team of all the major regions for me. If you told me they made the semifinals I wouldn’t be that surprised. If you told me they lost in the group stage, that honestly wouldn’t blow my mind either.
They’ll be blessed with the one-seed to try and increase their chances of coming out of groups, but in the end they are still just a top ten team for me. If they make the playoffs it will be mostly based on group draw, as I think they are definitely capable of losing to the two and three seeds from the other regions. The mid-jungle duo has been a problem for me and that should show up big time on this stage. They’ll need to rely on the top and bottom of the map to get advantages, and even Impact should struggle with how stacked the top lane talent pool is at this event.
#8 Royal Never Give Up
Top: LangX
Jungle: Karsa
Middle: Xiaohu
ADC: Uzi
Support: Ming
One of the most storied organizations in the history of the World Championship will head for the main stage once again. Unfortunately, I think we are going to be let down by the legends this season. Don’t get me wrong: this is a team that is edging on the top 5 for me. But it just doesn’t feel like the year for RNG.
I think it’s hard to argue they don’t have the best jungler in the world right now, which is a pretty big edge on anyone you face, but things just don’t seem to be clicking for RNG the way I’m used to seeing.
Uzi hasn’t had nearly the dominance you’d expect from him, and they’ve struggled with fitting top laners into their strategy. LangX (formerly XiaoAL) is an unbelievable player, but the way RNG use their gold just doesn’t utilize the top lane well, and there are a lot of teams at this tournament who will be happy to punish that. It feels a bit like Bjergsen in NA: he used to dominate the mid lane so hard that they could afford to do some other things suboptimally, but now that other mids have caught up and he can’t absolutely crush them, those mistakes are showing up more and more. Uzi and Ming used to absolutely bury any opposing bot lane, but the quality of players worldwide is so high now, so RNG’s other mistakes aren’t being overshadowed by a dominant bot lane.
We should see RNG in the playoffs, but out of the elite teams I give them the least chance to walk away the champions of this tournament. They don’t have the upside of some of the higher variance teams, and their floor just isn’t high enough for me this year.
#7 Damwon Gaming
Top: Nuguri
Jungle: Canyon
Mid: Showmaker
ADC: Nuclear
Support: Beryl/Hoit
Damwon has had one of the most variant seasons I’ve ever seen from an LCK team. There were points during this season where the general consensus among sharp analysts I know were both “This could be the best team in the world” and “This team just can’t even get the basics down pat.” What we can say for sure is that they possess one of the best mid laners in the world, and they complement that with one of the best top laners in the world. Nobody on this team is an individual weakness in my opinion, but they will rely heavily on Showmaker and Nuguri to get the job done.
Where the team tends to fall down is fundamental macro mistakes. They’ve had issues all season with things like not priming waves before objective fights, fighting when it’s disadvantageous for their comp and in situations that don’t favor them. They are a high confidence team who occasionally let that go too far. That being said, they are the only team starting in the play-ins who is a contender to win the World Championship. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an extremely long shot, but this is a team that could legitimately win the entire event, so anything less than a berth in the knockout stage will be a big letdown for Damwon fans.
#6 Invictus Gaming
Top: TheShy
Jungle: Leyan/Ning
Mid: Rookie
ADC: Jackeylove
Support: Baolan
This is the team that is going to cause the most stress for people at this World Championship, in my opinion. Nobody really knows what’s going to happen here. Our reigning World Champions were every bit as strong as we expected them to be up until the end of the summer season. Sure, they lost some games early in the season with backups playing, but I don’t know many people who were really worried for IG until just a few weeks before the end of summer, and then it all came tumbling down. I did have an inkling that they’d find their way through the gauntlet and end up here, but who knows what to expect now?
My feeling is that we’ll see nearly the same IG that we saw last World Championship. I think with some time off and the validation from finding the Worlds spot that almost eluded them, they’ll find themselves back in form and we’ll have another contender for the crown. The bigger difference this year will be the competition. EU is better than last year, Korea is way better than last year, and even the other Chinese representation has improved. I don’t think IG will defend their title, but I don’t think that’s because they are going to be that much worse. I think they’ll be a half step down from where they were last Worlds, while most other teams have taken a half step or full step up. But as with many of these teams, IG winning the entire event shouldn’t be a shock if it starts to head that way.
#5 Griffin
Top: Doran/Sword
Jungle: Tarzan
Mid: Chovy
ADC: Viper
Support: Lehends
What an enigma Griffin has been for their reasonably short run in the LCK. They’ve been in LCK for three splits, and they have seemed like the best team in the league at some point during each one. In the end, though, they’ve never managed to get over the hump and take a championship. There is no denying this team is insanely talented, and very capable of playing the game in a variety of styles. The question for me when it comes to Griffin is, “What do they do better than SKT?” It’s hard to predict a team to make a real run at winning the World Championship when there is a seemingly upgraded version of them running around in the same tournament.
That said, Griffin is a team that should find themselves in the playoffs for sure. In the playoffs, anything can happen, and Griffin could absolutely win this tournament if things played out correctly for them in the playoffs. Specifically, I worry about Griffin’s ability to deal with great macro and teamwork teams. They have the skill to stand up in lanes and the team fighting prowess to battle over an objective with anyone, but I worry about them being out-game-planned and out-reacted. I don’t think Griffin reacts to new situations as well as teams like SKT or G2, and given that their pre-match game planning has been questionable in the past (Spring finals vs. SKT anyone?), I think it’s a stretch to put Griffin in the finals.
#4 Fnatic
Top: Bwipo
Jungle: Broxah
Mid: Nemesis
ADC: Rekkles
Support: Hylissang
As with Splyce, this team will be overshadowed by the absolutely insane year that G2 has had over in Europe, but we shouldn’t forget about Fnatic. While I do think G2 has shown to be the better team by a decent step, Fnatic is a bit less variant and have a similar chance to find themselves in the finals this year, in my opinion. This is really strong team that has carry potential in every lane and great teamwork. They are capable of playing aggressive early game styles as well as handshaking into the late game with a Rekkles Tristana.
I expect Fnatic to be a tough matchup for every team at the tournament. I see a lot of criticism for Bwipo, but I think he’s absolutely perfect for this team. He has some games where he looks a bit boneheaded, but that’s often the price you pay to create real, consistent pressure, and the team is aware of that aspect of their gameplay. Anything less than a semifinal bid will feel a bit lackluster from this squad, and I have high hopes for them in the bracket.
#3 SK Telecom T1
Top: Khan
Jungle: Clid
Mid: Faker
ADC: Teddy
Support: Effort/Mata
After some back-and-forth streaks all season long, SKT have finally cemented themselves as the top team in the LCK. Anything less than that would have been a letdown for a team with this level of talent and legacy. An LPL jungler was just what this team needed, and Clid has been fantastic in that role. SKT adapts a bit better than their LCK counterpart Griffin, but I still think it can be called out as a bit of a weakness for this group. SK Telecom hasn’t had great overall results when they start to get in bad positions, probably because they are so confident in their insane levels of skill. A team capable of keeping them on the back foot and keeping them guessing should have every chance of beating the savvy Korean vets.
I don’t want to harp too much on the small weaknesses of this team, because the real question for SKT feels like “Finals or Semi-Finals?” I can’t imagine them finding their way off the stage any earlier than the semis barring, a very weird first-round matchup, and I’d say the expectation for them is somewhere between second and third. As with many of these teams, SKT should be extremely capable of winning this event and no one would be surprised if we get another closing shot of Faker holding up the trophy. It’s a movie we’ve all seen plenty of times, and honestly it never gets old.
#2 Funplus Phoenix
Top: Gimgoon
Jungle: Tian
Middle: DoinB
ADC: LWX
Support: Crisp
What a great story and season from FPX. DoinB finally gets the Worlds run he deserves, and with a team that so perfectly utilizes each other’s strengths and covers each other’s flaws.
A friend of mine refers to FPX as “The Juggernaut”. They aren’t particularly tricky in many ways. They don’t really hide what they are trying to do, but try and stop them and you are likely to end up in a hole in the ground.
I think they will be a bit underrated at this World Championship because their organization doesn’t have the same name value and history as some other teams. FPX, for me, have the second-best combination in the tournament of all various aspects of a great league franchise. When you put together their individual skill, game planning, macro, adaptation, coaching, drafts, etc., I think you’ll find them sitting behind only one team.
#1 G2 Esports
Top: Wunder
Jungle: Jankos
Mid: Caps
ADC: Perkz
Support: promisq/mikyx
What can be said about this team that hasn’t already been said this season? Coming into the spring split, I was worried about how this team would gel, but within only a few weeks those worries were absolutely gone. There has never been a team in the history of League of Legends that does what this team does. It’s not just about skill, though they are very skilled players who will rival any opposing lanes in the world. It’s about a combination of teamwork, adaptation, drafting, and preparation that makes this team so insanely scary.
There are plenty of games where someone on G2 has a bad game or loses lane, but their ability to play to their win conditions no matter the composition and react instantly to plays is unrivaled. There are matchups in this tournament where they will be outskilled, matchups where they will be outcoached, and matchups where they will be out-teamworked. But no matter which of those they are being disadvantaged in, it’s a pretty safe bet they’ll find an advantage in the other realms. The 2019 iteration of G2 esports is the best League of Legends team of all time. I’m not talking about their dominance vs. their era or anything like that, only about pure all-around ability from coaching to laning to game planning to drafting to teamwork to decision making. As far as I’m concerned, this is the best we’ve ever seen.
John George is a former professional poker player and current high stakes esports bettor and daily fantasy player. He lives in New Mexico with his wife and two kids.