Group A seemed like the most decisive group at Worlds. With nine total World Champions, it was almost certain that Damwon Kia and FunPlus Phoenix would advance to the quarter-finals. Cloud9 and Rogue, the clear underdogs of the group, shook up the standings in their final day of group stage.
How Cloud9 made the miracle run happen
At 0-3, Cloud9 had the worst record going into the day. Defeating Rogue and FPX in quick succession, C9 almost escaped the group without the need for a tie-breaker until their sole loss of the day versus Damwon. Cloud9’s 54-minute thrill ride against Rouge is ultimately what sent the LCS hopefuls through.
Though neck-and-neck throughout the early game, early dragons and kills taken by Kacper “Inspired” Sloma saw Rogue take an early lead. Looking down a Bloodthrister Olaf, C9’s slow-paced midgame saw them slowly accumulate a growing lead.
Luka “Perkz” Perkovic, despite giving away early deaths, proved invaluable in the countless siege attempts C9 made on Rogue’s base. Ending 9/4/5 on LeBlanc, the solo laners proved themselves in this intense series.
Why did FPX fall apart?
The 2019 World Champions failed to pick up a single game, going 0-4 on the day. FPX’s sudden drop from second to fourth place marks perhaps the biggest upset in Group’s history.
In their first two losses of the day, Gao “Tian” Tian-Liang had minimal impact from the jungle at best, finishing his game against Damwon and C9 with a combined 3/7/4 record. After these first failures, FPX could not recover as their bottom lane duo similarly struggled.
With a tournament favorite already out this early, it seems that Worlds 2021 is more open for upsets than initially expected.
More League of Legends:
- Why are western teams struggling at Worlds 2021?
- Team Liquid Santorin: “This feels like a very winnable group and we’re just going to take it one game at a time”
- Rogue Trymbi: “It is probably exhausting for everyone trying to get efficient practice in while trying so many new champions”
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