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 B where FunPlus Phoenix, J Team, GAM Esports and Splyce will be battling it out.
FunPlus Phoenix
Seed: LPL 1st
2019 Accomplishments: 3rd in Spring and 1st in Summer, 1st in Spring and Summer Regular Season
Likely Starting Lineup:
Top: Kim “GimGoon” Han-saem
Jungle: Gao “Tian” Tian-Liang
Mid: Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang
Bot: Lin “Lwx” Wei-Xiang
Supp: Liu “Crisp” Qing-Song
FunPlus Phoenix are one of the most hyped-up teams for this year’s Worlds. They have had an incredible season and are looking to continue their success as they start their run. This team went an astounding 27-3 during the regular season and have one of the best players in the world in Doinb. This man has been making incredible plays all season and will finally have his chance to go up against the world’s best midlaners. If he can show his worth and GimGoon, Lwx and crew continue to do their thing, then this team definitely has a chance to make it so the LPL wins back to back World Championships.
J Team
Seed: LMS 1st
2019 Accomplishments: A perfect 12-0 during the Summer along with a Summer Split title
Likely Starting Lineup:
Top: Hsu “Rest” Shih-Chieh
Jungle: Chen “Hana” Chih-Hao
Mid: Chu “FoFo” Chun-Lan
Bot: Chen “Lilv” Chin-Han
Supp: Lin “Koala” Chih-Chiang
Even as the first seed coming out of the LMS many analysts and fans alike are already ruling this team out. Yet they have some Worlds experienced in Koala and players with multiple LMS MVP awards like FoFo. J Team will play aggressively. Hana will lead the way with some of his signature picks still being in the meta like Lee Sin and Gragas. This allows them to play around FoFo and Lilv while Rest just does his thing up top. There is no doubt that they have an uphill battle as normally LMS teams don’t make it past Group Stages.
GAM Esports
Seed: VN 1st
2019 Accomplishments: 1st in the Summer for both the Playoffs and Regular Season
Likely Starting Lineup:
Top: Phạm “Zeros” Minh Lộc
Jungle: Đỗ “Levi” Duy Khánh
Mid: Trần “Kiaya” Duy Sang
Bot: Nguyễn “Zin” Tuấn Thọ
Supp: Nguyễn “Slay” Ngọc Hùng
Fans may also know this team as formerly the GIGABYTE Marines. As an org, GAM Esports have been arguably the most successful Vietnamese team ever. They are at Worlds again and bring in some different talent than in years past. Zeros was a part of the Phong Vu Buffalo squad that was at MSI and Levi was at one time on 100 Thieves from the LCS. This team will be going to Worlds with the expectation of finishing last in this group. That said both the players mentioned above along with the flexibility of the squad overall could lead to some upsets once play begins.
Splyce
Seed: LEC 3rd
2019 Accomplishments: 3rd in Summer Split and 2nd in Regional Finals
Likely Starting Lineup:
Top: Tamás “Vizicsacsi” Kiss
Jungle: Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir
Mid: Marek “Humanoid” Brázda
Bot: Kasper “Kobbe” Kobberup
Supp: Tore “Norskeren” Hoel Eilertsen
Don’t let the “3rd seed” fool anyone. This Splyce team is very solid up and down their lineup. They have their style of playing slow and extending games but it seemingly works in almost any meta. They were possibly the best team during Play-Ins even though Unicorns of Love took them to five games. In this group, Splyce should have one goal, just be better than Gam and J Team. While that sounds obvious, taking a game off FunPlus Phoenix seems unlikely and Splyce should be better than either of the other teams. If they can play their style and beat the teams they are supposed to then they will have an easier time than most, making it out of their group.
Who do you have making it out of Group B? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!
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