After eight days of action, only eight teams remain. With the knockout stage of Worlds 2019 set to start on October 26, the real journey to lifting the Summoner’s Cup begins now. Going into the quarterfinals, which team looks best? What does this mean for teams that missed out on the playoffs? Take a look and find out.

Korea Is Back

Reports of the LCK’s demise was greatly exaggerated. With all three Korean teams in the hardest groups, some fans were imagining a world in which we could see a playoffs without any representation from the LCK. However, SK Telecom T1, Griffin and DAMWON Gaming all dominated their groups, dropping one single game each. 

Now the three teams enter the playoffs as some of the favorites to win it all once again. Will this mean there will be an all-Korea final once again? Only time will tell. However, for now let’s sit back and enjoy. The true kings are back to grace fans with some great League of Legends once again. 

One Gap Closes, Another Widens

Three Korean teams, three European teams and two Chinese teams; while Europe has clearly caught up to the Asian teams and can now hold their own, the lack of North American teams yet again shows that they’re still very far behind. While fans of the LEC can happily watch the playoffs, fans of the LCS have a much harder road ahead of them. 

Discussion is already starting around how North America as a region can improve and finally be able to compete with the other major regions. From subjects such as improving solo queue to changing the format of the LCS itself, it’s clear that a lot can be done for the improvement of the region. But these solutions always come back to the same issue, will the players care enough to do something? Until they do, the gap will always be Korea, China and Europe being ahead of the rest of the world.  

Great Matches Await

With eight of the best teams in the world remaining, in tense BO5 situations, the remaining matches all the way until the end will should be very entertaining. In the quarterfinals itself, apart from a fairly large mismatch in Splyce facing off against SK Telecom T1, there are already some matches that could’ve been grand finals in their own rights. 

First off there’s DAMWON Gaming facing off against G2 Esports, a matchup that will highlight the amazing solo laners of both teams. Then there’s Griffin versus Invictus Gaming, a matchup showcasing some amazing junglers and mid laners, especially as the two amazing Korean mids in Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon and Song “Rookie” Eui-jin are set to face off. And lastly there is the matchup between Fnatic and FunPlus Phoenix, which will see a showdown between two distinct styles.

No matter which teams move on, the playoffs will be very fun to watch all the way through.

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.

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