With the final series of the season set to take place this weekend, the League of Legends esports scene will look very different heading into its tenth season. Taking into account every result so far, what are some takeaways from the 2019 League of Legends World Championships? With a lot to take away from Worlds so far, let’s take a look at just some of the things learned so far.
Courtesy of: LoL Esports Flickr
With G2 Esports making the finals against FunPlus Phoenix and Korea continuing to struggle at times, the gap is closing more and more. While there are still likely gaps at lower levels across the regions, the gap between the top teams is nearly non-existent. For the first time since season 2, it truly feels like the top Western teams are able to compete against the top Asian teams. Even if G2 is unable to win it all this year, 2020 and beyond will be a great time going forward for the West internationally. However, Worlds 2019 also showed that the gap only really closed for Europe. Because while Europe continues to get better and better…
Three Korean teams, three European teams and two Chinese teams, this was the regional distribution of the teams that made it into the playoffs. Immediately the lack of a North American team jumps out and becomes evident. While it’s an unfortunate truth, fans of the LCS must now fully accept that despite how much better the teams look at times, the region is still vastly behind other major regions. Although Team Liquid’s run to the finals of the Mid-Season Invitational kept the hope alive for a while, the results of Worlds 2019 is the final nail in the coffin.
While changes are being made in an attempt to catch up with other major regions, North America will have a long way to go before that will happen.
Courtesy of: LoL Esports Flickr
While North America slowly falls more and more behind, the wildcard regions are getting better and better. For now, it’s still not enough and the wildcard teams will need to continue improving. While the performance from the likes of Unicorns of Love, it’s clear that the top wildcard region teams are very close to potentially being able to knockout the lower-seeded main region teams and make their way into the main stage of Worlds.
Along with that, with the LMS/SEA merger coming into 2020 and more emerging talent from these regions, we could see more wildcard teams get better and better. Will it be enough for a wildcard team to finally make it to the main stage at an international tournament? Only time will tell.
With all the great matches so far at Worlds, it has only increased the hype for the tenth season of the game’s competitive scene. With more and more young talent entering the scene and most regions continuing to improve, the quality of matches will only get better and better. Along with that, as it’s been mentioned everywhere, the competition at the highest level both domestically and internationally has been as competitive and entertaining as it has ever been.
With a huge milestone coming up in the tenth season, which teams will step up and seize the opportunity and take their spot on the throne?
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/category/league-of-legends/.
Featured image courtesy of LoL Esports Flickr.
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