The League of Legends 2019 World Championship group stage has officially ended after an exciting week of back-to-back matches. Of the 16 teams who advanced, only eight remain as we move on to the quarterfinals. And of the 13 regions represented at Worlds, only the LPL, LCK, and LEC are left.
Today we had the quarterfinals draw where the eight remaining teams were sorted into the knockout stage bracket. The teams were randomly selected to face each other with some restrictions. The first seed team of each group must be placed against the second seed team of a different group. Moving forward the quarterfinals will be one best-of-five where the winner of each matchup will advance to the semifinals.
Here are the matchups for the quarterfinals.
Saturday, Oct. 26
Griffin vs. Invictus Gaming
FunPlus Phoenix vs. Fnatic
Sunday, Oct. 27
SK Telecom T1 vs. Splyce
DAMWON Gaming vs. G2 Esports
At first glance, a majority of the quarterfinal matches look like they could be a toss-up. Against IG, Griffin have improved significantly through the competition. They came in with a plethora of issues stemming from their inner management along with losing their coach but have since returned to the dominant form we’ve seen in the LCK. They bested G2 twice in the group stage and only dropped one game. IG, on the other hand, have struggled to return to their 2018 World Championship form, but have been quickly ramping up since the start of the group stage.
As for DAMWON and G2, the European team is a clear powerhouse. Their only challenge in the competition was against Griffin who put them out of first seed contention. DAMWON started off weak in play-ins, but went 3-0 on the final day of groups against Team Liquid and IG.
FunPlus Phoenix and Fnatic are even more of a mystery. FPX were supposed to be the LPL’s strongest team, but they faltered in a group that was unexpectedly easy with J Team and GAM Esports. Fnatic, however, entered a difficult group with SKT and RNG. Despite this, they went undefeated on the final day of their group stage and have proven to be a world contender once again.
Unfortunately for Splyce, they have the only match up that immediately screams one-sided. SKT won both the LCK Spring and Summer playoffs and have significantly changed their style to become fearlessly aggressive. SKT still have some kinks to work out, but their propensity for teamfighting is unparalleled and will likely cause difficulty for Splyce.
Griffin vs. IG will be the first to face each other beginning Oct. 26. at 5am CT followed by FPX vs. Fnatic right after. The quarterfinals will continue the following day with SKT vs. Splyce and DAMWON Gaming vs. G2 Esports.
