The Turkish representatives, Galatasaray Esports, are looking stronger than most of the other wildcard teams in Worlds 2021.
For years, Turkey looked like one of the strongest wildcard regions in the League of Legends scene. However, the region sought success and managed to reach the group stage two times before. This year, Turkey’s Worlds 2021 representatives, Galatasaray Esports, are pretty strong considering their mid-jungle synergy. Let’s have a look at what can they accomplish this year at Worlds 2021.
Galatasaray Esports are a well-known team in Turkey. The traditional sports side of the club was found in 1905 and are considered one of the best teams in soccer. The esports branch was found in 2017 and struggled until this year. Galatasaray Esports lifted the TCL trophy for the first time in the franchise history to qualify for Worlds 2021.
TCL 2021 Summer Split – Galatasaray Esports
Galatasaray formed one of the best roster on paper before the TCL 2021 Summer Split started. The team signed two Koreans, Kim “Crazy” Jae-hee, and Noh “Alive” Jin-Wook. Their other players are Turkish, Berk “Mojito” Kocaman, Onur “Bolulu” Demirol, and Onur “Zergsting” Ünalan. The team smurfed TCL in the Summer Split. They got 15 wins and faced 3 losses during the regular season. In the playoffs, Galatasaray Esports first eliminated Beşiktaş Esports, and faced NASR Esports in the finals. After a one-sided series, GS lifted the trophy and qualified for Worlds 2021.
Roster Quality and Individual Performances
By looking at their roster, Galatasaray had the best five-man squad this year in TCL. Their top laner, Crazy, played for T1, and Rogue Warriors in the past. Mojito had ups and downs throughout his career but this year he won the MVP award with his solid gameplay. On the other hand, mid laner Bolulu, is considered the best mid laner in Turkey right now. We saw him struggle in international tournaments before but he improved his champion pool and came back stronger. Bolulu was the mid laner of last year’s SuperMassive roster which beat MAD Lions in the play-in stage.
Galatasaray Esports’ bottom lane duo, Alive and Zergsting, are two of the most clever players that have ever played in Turkey. Dark Passage’s coach Furkan “Lynx” Arıkovan said that it is impossible to flank against Zergsting, in one of his streams. On top of that, Alive is known for his insane game knowledge.
Group Draw
Galatasaray Esports will play against Beyond Gaming, Cloud9, Detonation FocusMe, and Unicorns of Love in Worlds 2021 Play-in Group B. Beyond Gaming look like they are the strongest team in the group and some fans think DFM is better than Galatasaray. To be honest, I think Galatasaray Esports may even come on top of Cloud9 in the group stage to guarantee themselves the second spot in the group. It is because of their chemistry. Mojito and Bolulu’s performances will decide Galatasaray’s destiny in Worlds 2021. The group draw is not that bad for them considering if they want to reach the upper stages, they need to be one of the best. Competing against their serious opponents in the group stage will give them a chance to weigh themselves before the elimination games.
To sum up, it is hard to predict Galatasaray’s level against other teams because they may be better than everyone thinks.
