With the quarterfinals wrapping up of the 2021 League of Legends World Championship, the next few weeks of games are looking to be explosive as the next World Champion is closer and closer to being crowned. Here are five takeaways from the last week of games.
The LCK is back on top and looking for another title
When the group stage closed last week, all four of the LCK seeds in T1, Gen.G, Damwon KIA and Hanwha Life Esports locked in the spot in the Worlds 2021 quarterfinals.
Now, as we head into the semifinals: three of those teams are moving onto the semifinals. Even more impressively is that all of those teams won their semi-finals in 3-0 fashion and in impressive fashion. It is guaranteed the LCK will also have at least one representative in the finals with Saturday’s game between Damwon KIA and T1.
EDG breaks their curse and makes the semifinals
The last time EDG placed above semi-finals in a global championship was 2015’s Mid Season Invitational. they took down SK Telecom T1 in a five-game series. Every Worlds following, the team either failed to make it out or got eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Now, having taken down the 2021 MSI Champions in Royal Never Give Up, they break their curse and move on to face Gen.G. As the last remaining LPL team, EDG will have immense pressure to carry the legacy of the LPL and take down the LCK 2nd Seed.
Could there be a changing of the guard?
Saturday’s match between Damwon KIA and T1 can place a huge legacy on the shoulders of the team that wins.
If Damwon win, they could be in line to become only the second team in history to have more than one World Championship title. On the other hand, should T1 win, they have a chance to earn their fourth World Championship title and secure Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok’s title as the most winningest player in the game’s history.
The same can also be said for Damwon’s coach in Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun who coached that record-breaking SKT roster and could look for another shot at the title himself. Either way, Saturday can change the course of League of Legends history.
The west fails to break out
Heartbreak for Western fans also took place over the course of the quarterfinals where the LEC’s MAD Lions and LCS’s Cloud9. Both the last hopes of the western scene, were eliminated.
MAD faced a very uphill battle where they faced Damwon KIA while C9 floundered against Gen.G, a match many had predicted C9 to win. With their losses, this marks the first time since 2017 that a Western team does not make it to the semi-finals.
Western fans definitely share a bit of disappointment of another LCK and LPL dominated semifinals. However, both C9 and MAD deserved their spots in the quarterfinals and have made their regions proud.
Who wins the title can be anyone’s game
With the amount of dominance between the teams, expect the games to be long, hardfought and very bloody.
All three LCK teams won in 3-0 fashion with dominating early games and convincing teamfights. Meanwhile EDG were able to show how their teamfighting and macroplay could take down teams when they least expect it.
While the victor of T1 versus Damwon is expected to be the favorites to win the Summoner’s Cup, all four of these teams are contenders to bring home the glory.
Worlds Semifinals kicks off when Damwon and T1 face off on Saturday while EDG and Gen.G will play Sunday to determine the two finalists for Worlds 2021.
