Worlds 2019 Group Stages are getting ready to start and with that The Game Haus will be taking a look at each team within each group to make sure that all fans are as informed as possible. For those who may not know how this stage works, all teams in the group will play each other twice in a Round Robin format. The games are best of one. The top two teams move on to a best of five series and continue playing until one team is left standing. Now, here is a look at Group A where G2 Esports, Griffin, Cloud 9 and Hong Kong Attitude will be battling it out.
G2 Esports
Seed: LEC 1st
2019 Accomplishments: LEC Spring and Summer Split Champions, MSI Champions
Likely Starting Lineup:
Top: Martin “Wunder” Hansen
Jungle: Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski
Mid: Rasmus “Caps” Winther
Bot: Lika “Perkz” Perković
Supp: Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle
This is without a doubt the best European team that has ever been sent to Worlds. With superstars up and down the lineup, G2 have seemingly done what they want when they want to all year long. They are not afraid to try new strategies and champions out which is definitely one of their biggest strengths. One of their biggest weaknesses is that they seemingly underestimate just about everyone they play. At times they don’t take their opponent seriously and lose track of what is going on. The individual skill is there, as long as they focus and take their opponents seriously, they should have quite a bit of success.
Griffin
Seed: LCK 2nd
2019 Accomplishments: 2nd place in Spring and Summer, 1st place in Spring and Summer Regular Season
Likely Starting Lineup:
Top: Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon
Top: Choi “Sword” Sung-won
Jungle: Lee “Tarzan” Seung-yong
Mid: Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon
Bot: Park “Viper” Do-hyeon
Supp: Son “Lehends” Si-woo
The world finally gets a chance to see Griffin on the big stage. Last year they barely missed out on Worlds after setting the LCK ablaze. While they did the same this season, their struggles in the playoffs and in big games in general, have continued to haunt them. There is no doubt that this team is extremely talented. They have one of the best rosters in the world boasting players like Tarzan and Chovy. They are also extremely young with an average age of 19.5 years old. If Griffin can overcome their choaking in big moments, they could make some serious noise and contend for a 2019 title.
Cloud9
Seed: LCS 2nd
2019 Accomplishments: 3rd place in Spring and 2nd in Summer, 2nd in Spring and Summer Regular Season
Likely Starting Lineup:
Top: Eric “Licorice” Ritchie
Jungle: Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen
Mid: Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer
Bot: Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi
Supp: Tristan “Zeyzal” Stidam
Cloud9 has a habit out of surprising fans and analysts alike to make it further than many people predicted them to. They have been to every Worlds since they joined the LCS in Season 3 and have only seemingly gotten better as time has gone on. They were Worlds 2018 semi-finalists and proved that their teamwork and young stars can get it done. 2019 will be their first year without Jensen as their midlaner since 2015. Instead, Nisqy has stepped in and by all accounts, has performed extremely well in 2019. With Licorice healthy, Summer Split LCS MVP Svenskeren and this team getting to finally skip Play-Ins, it will be interesting to see how far they can go and if they can once again surprise everyone.
Hong Kong Attitude
Seed: LMS 3rd
2019 Accomplishments: 1st in the LMS Regional Finals
Likely Starting Lineup:
Top: Chen “3z” Han
Jungle: Lee “Crash” Dong-woo
Mid: Chen “M1ssion” Hsiao-Hsien
Bot: Wong “Unified” Chun Kit
Supp: Ling “Kaiwing” Kai Wing
After making it through Play-Ins some of the questions surrounding this team have been answered. While they did not have the toughest road, they still did what was needed to make it this far and completely counting them out may be exactly what they are hoping for. This team struggled during the regular season of both Splits but turned it on when it mattered during the Regional Finals to make it to Worlds. They will turn to 3z and M1ssion to make plays for them when it matters. While it is unlikely that they make it out of Groups, this team could definitely steal a couple wins.
Who do you have making it out of Group A? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!
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