Worlds Wrapped - Groups Day 4
The first round robin of groups has finished, with several teams pulling ahead of the pack. It's been a closely fought battle between the LEC, LPL and LCK, while the LCS is still struggling to find its first win. Here are the biggest talking points from day 4 of groups.
RGE Top Group C
The LEC has always struggled against the LPL, so Rogue had a tough task when they faced TOP Esports for a chance at sole possession of first place. The game started off with some spicy picks in draft, with Malrang locking in Lee Sin and Trymbi ditching the enchanters for Rakan.
The early game was pretty close, though TOP got slightly ahead after taking an advantageous fight around the dragon pit. However, the game was was turned on its head after Trymbi appeared to be caught in a side lane:
Trymbi successfully lulled TOP into a false sense of security, buying enough time for the rest of his team to show up and clean house. Even Malrang was able to survive Leona flashing over the Baron pit wall thanks to a clutch Goredrinker.
With this ace and the Baron buff, Rogue steamrolled this advantage and finished the game with over a 10k gold lead. They destroyed the Nexus off the back of a beautiful ultimate from Malrang, whose Lee Sin should now be feared along with his Jarvan:
With a 3-0 start to the tournament, Rogue have already had their best performance at Worlds in the organisation's history. After dominant and versatile performances, the LEC's first seed are starting to emerge as a real contender in the tournament.
The Most Diverse Meta
With the likes of Kindred, Jayce and Rakan being locked in on day 4, over 100 champions have already been picked/banned at Worlds. This is an astonishing figure given how much longer we still have left in the tournament, and a testament to how diverse the current meta is.
Teams haven't been confined to a small list of viable champions, and each region has had the opportunity to display their regional flare. For example, EU have been playing a lot of Lucian/Nami while NA has prioritised Fiora in the top lane.
Even though there have been some champions with a very high pick/ban presence (specifically Aatrox and Maokai), no champion feels completely broken and counters have been found. Overall, this has made for an incredibly exciting tournament so far with many unpredictable drafts.
Standings
With EDG, FNC and T1 all tied at 2-1, all eyes are on group A to see which 2 teams will make it out. Meanwhile, with the undefeated JDG, RGE and RNG claiming the top spot in their groups, the remaining teams are fighting for second place.
C9, 100T and EG will need to play out of their minds if they want a chance to make it out, but it may already be too late. Some games have looked relatively even in the early game, but alarmingly, no LCS team has been able to even take a T2 turret in the group stage.
Worlds will be back on Thursday, with each group playing out the remainder of its games on one day. We'll be starting off with a bang as the teams from group A take to the stage, and the tense 3-way tie between FNC, EDG and T1 will be decided.
The games will also be starting a couple hours earlier than the first round robin, so be sure to check the LoLEsports schedule for your local start time!