The semifinals of the 2019 League of Legends World Championships has come to a close. G2 Esports has taken down SK Telecom T1 and FunPlus Phoenix eliminated Invictus Gaming. G2 will face FPX in the Worlds finals in Paris, France on November 10. Both teams have looked incredible throughout the tournament, and should put on an amazing performance that is exciting to watch.
Image Courtesy of Riot Games
FPX took down the 2018 world champions IG in four games with superior teamfighting compositions and unconventional picks. Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang played AP Nautilus mid in three of the games in the series. This pick threw IG off guard, as they were unable to properly respond to the stronger teamfight potential that FPX brought to the table. Both Doinb and Gao “Tian” Tian-Liang performed well and were constantly making plays.
G2 defeated one of the best teams in the game in SKT T1 in four games. SKT T1 were looking like the favorites to win going into the knockout stage, but fell short against G2. Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski is flaunting his LEC MVP status and tearing through the other junglers in his path. The G2 roster has improved as a whole and are proving that they’re a team that is capable of taking home a Worlds trophy.
G2 and FPX are both the number one seed in their respective regions and have shown that they’re top tier teams on the international stage. The series can go in either teams favor and will most likely be decided by the draft phase and each team’s ability to play around their main carries. G2 will look to play around the prowess of Rasmus “Caps” Borregaard Winther and Luka “Perkz” Perković and their ability to carry games. While every member of G2 has pulled their weight in Worlds, these two players have consistently stood out as some of the best players to come out of Europe. Doinb and Tian from FPX have also looked particularly clean throughout the knock-out stage in Worlds. Expect a ton of action around the mid and bottom lane, with roams from both mid laners.
Early game dominance is a major focus of G2, and they should look to continue applying pressure as quickly as possible. G2 will look to maintain their priority on Xayah or Kai’sa for Perkz. His 100% win rate on both Xayah and Kai’sa is astonishing, and these picks make the most sense for G2’s play style. Jankos has been sticking to strong early game junglers like Elise, Gragas and Rek’Sai, and should look to continue abusing these picks. Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle has been doing a great job of peeling for his carries and engaging with picks like Leona and Rakan. The late game insurance for G2 is typically placed upon Caps and Martin “Wunder” Nordahl Hansen with picks like Ryze, Syndra, Ornn and Kayle.
FPX will also look to stick to their winning formula of putting their ADC on a traditional marksman. Lin “Lwx” Wei-Xiang has done well on Xayah and Kai’sa, but he is also able to provide additional utility through a Varus pick. Doinb may try to throw G2 off as well with the mid lane Nautilus pick. This depends on how well they think G2 is prepared for this pick. Liu “Crisp” Qing-Song is known for playing tanky engage supports like Nautilus and Thresh. Kim “GimGoon” Han-saem has shown his ability to play Renekton masterfully, and even get ahead in counter matchups. Tian also looks to make early plays with picks like Lee Sin, Gragas and Qiyana.
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Featured photo from Riot Games
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