With the Play-In stage set to start on October 2nd, the wildcard regions will be looking to upset a main region team to make their way into the main stage. Some players will need to step up in order for this to happen. Part 1 of this series will take a look at which players from main region teams will need to step up to make sure no upsets happen.
Group A- Tanner “Damonte” Damonte (Clutch Gaming)
IT’S TANNER TIME!
In his first international appearance, Damonte will have a tough road ahead of him against some of the best Mid Laners in the world. His first challenge will come from Unicorns of Love and Lev “Nomanz” Yakshin, a Mid Laner that has already shown a lot during his time at this season’s Mid Season Invitational. If Damonte is able to dominate in the Play-Ins, then he could be able to ride the momentum into the main stage where the likes of Tim “Nemesis” Lipovšek and Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok await him.
While this will be a big challenge ahead for Damonte and the rest of Clutch, it will be a great chance to compare themselves with the rest of the world.
Group B- Tamás “Vizicsacsi” Kiss (Splyce)
After five years of competing as one of the best Top Laners in the EU LCS/LEC, Vizicsacsi will finally have a chance to compete at Worlds. While he has fallen off at times throughout the years, his overall consistency has been great. Will Vizicsacsi be able to keep up against some of the best Top Laners in the world as Splyce could end up in either group B or D in the main stage. No matter how Splyce does overall at the tournament, it’ll be fun to finally see Vizicsacsi on the Worlds stage.
Group C- Chen “M1ssion” Hsiao-Hsien (Hong Kong Attitude)
With the LMS looking weaker than ever, this could be a dangerous year for their Play-In team in the Hong Kong Attitude. With some great Mid Laners on the other teams in the group, M1ssion needs to step up for HKA to make it out as the first seed. Facing off against talented Mid Laners like Nguyễn “Artifact” Văn Hậu from Lowkey Esports and MEGA’s Nuttapong “G4” Menkasikan, M1ssion could be the deciding factor in HKA’s upcoming matches.
If M1ssion does falter, it could lead to a disappointing end for the HKA in the final season of the LMS being its own league. However, if M1ssion can dominate, then HKA could blaze through the Play-Ins.
Group D- Sin “Nuclear” Jeong-hyeon (DAMWON Gaming)
Nuclear should have an easy time in this group despite some solid ADCs in Royal Youth’s Na “Pilot” Woo-hyung and Felipe “brTT” Gonçalves on Flamengo eSports. However, as most consider Nuclear and his support Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee the weakest link of the team, this Play-In tournament could be a great chance for the Bot Lane tandem to cement themselves as just as strong as the rest of the team along with being one of the top Bot Lane tandems at the event. However, the pressure is much higher for Nuclear as BeryL has shown the ability to make some huge plays throughout the season.
Will Nuclear prove himself at this stage? Only time will tell.
To watch League of Legends tournaments, visit watch.na.lolesports.com. For more information on the Split, teams, standings and players, visit www.lolesports.com. Recaps of former weeks and other LoL content can be found at https://thegamehaus.com/league-of-legends/.
Featured image courtesy of LoL Esports Twitter.
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