A LoL world champion from Europe is currently more wishful thinking than a realistic possibility. Although LEC record winner G2 Esports flashed its class several times at this year’s MSI, once again far too little came at the decisive moments.
When G2 became the first European team to lift the MSI trophy in 2019, hopes of a Worlds triumph were raised. However, the probably most promising LEC team of the past few years was brought back to earth a few months later by a 0:3 defeat against FunPlus Phoenix.
A similar picture emerged last weekend in the MSI semifinals against T1 for LoL superstar Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok. Because at no time did G2 stand a chance of surviving at the highest level.
T1 individually just too strong
“A lot of things went wrong today,” said mid-laner Rasmus “caPs” Winther in the subsequent interview. The Danish star explained that T1 had an early game that was simply too strong.
Faker, in particular, put on a picture-perfect performance in mid-lane in the first game. The three-time world champion was always in the right place at the right time.
The Korean’s teammates also presented themselves stronger than the pros from G2 Esports. Whether in one-on-one situations or in team fights: T1 almost always emerged as the winner.
And North America? Despite an acceptable performance by LCS champion Evil Geniuses over the entire tournament, the semi-finals ended with a 3-0 loss against LPL champion RNG.
In addition, G2 managed to win all six duels against the North Americans.
China and South Korea the measure of all things
Thus, the fourth of a total of seven MSI finals was once again China versus South Korea. In this exciting match between RNG and T1 it was clear how close League of Legends can be at world-class level.
In the end, the Chinese top team around mid laner Li “Xiaohu” Yuan-Hao fought a narrow 3-2 victory and is now a record winner of MSI tournaments with three titles.
In just over four months, the next world championships in League of Legends are coming up. As already mentioned, a victory for a European team is currently pure wishful thinking.