League of Legends Worlds 2020 – Power Ranking

Play-ins have concluded, and that means we know how the groups of Worlds 2020 will shape up. We’ve already seen MAD Lions knocked out of Worlds, CIS stepping up and China redeeming themselves after a questionable start. The question now is, how do the Main Event groups stack up against each other?

Without further ado, let’s start with Group A, where all eyes are on Caps and G2 Esports. We already knew that this team consisted of the first seed of EU in G2 Esports, the third seed of China in Suning, the first seed of the Pacific Championship Series in Machi Esports and now the third seed from North America straight from the play-ins in Team Liquid.

On paper, G2 Esports is the clear favourite in this group. Having won MSI 2019 and being in the World finals the same year, they also have a two times Worlds finalist in Caps. So they should be a clear favourite to win this group. However, they have shown weakness when playing against Chinese teams. The playstyle from China, which contains very bloody skirmishes starting from level one, can prove to be a strong playstyle against a mostly slacking G2 in the early game. This opens for a potential upset form Suning in the group. 

Joining them will be Team Liquid and Machi Esports. Although Team Liquid have shown a strong performance in the play-ins, so has the PCS with PSG Talon making it out. The strong teamplay from Team Liquid and the Worlds buff from Impact, should secure them wins over Machi Esports. While it is unlikely that they will make it out of the group, there have been bigger upsets in Worlds before. 

Our predictions for Group A

  1. G2 Esports
  2. Suning
  3. Team Liquid
  4. Machi Esports
Korean revenge

This group has two main contenders to make it out and it should not be close. The first seed from Korea in DAMWON Gaming has looked so dominant in the LCK, making it look like no one could even remotely contest them. They are Korea’s hope for revenge and reclaiming the throne by winning Worlds. Even though we have not seen a lot of international competition, they are widely regarded as one of the best teams at the tournament and favourites to take it all. 

Challenging them in their group is the second seed from China, JD Gaming. They are not your regular LPL team as they are more objective-focused than they are on fighting. They have a more macro-playstyle which will be heavily tested against the first seed of Korea, where this style is perfected. Both Rogue and PSG Talon will have a tough time against these two juggernauts, especially PSG Talon. They have played the play-ins with three substitute players and will only now start with their full roster. This means that not all their players enjoyed some stage and Worlds experience. It is yet to be seen if this will affect them in a positive or negative way. 

Rogue has faced tough opposition in Europe before, but this is unlike anything else. They will have to adapt quickly and learn on the go how to play and win with a macro-playstyle, as this style is favoured in this group. Maybe they could pull off an upset with a style of their own, as Europe is known to do from time to time. But unless they reinvented themselves in these last days, group B will be a tough cookie to crack.

Our predictions for Group B

  1. DAMWON Gaming
  2. JD Gaming
  3. Rogue
  4. PSG Talon
The Group of Life

There is no clear favourite and all teams have a chance of making it out. This group also has a lot of support from their fans attributable to the legacies they all have. Due to the lack of international competition, we have no idea how the teams will stack up against each other. Looking regionally, TSM and FNC both made an impressive run through the playoffs. TSM came back from being knocked out by Golden Guardians in the first round, winning all series all the way back to the finals winning versus FlyQuest. 

FNC, firstly, beating G2 with 3-2 in an impressive way to then being stomped in the finals with a 0-3 scoreline. Although Gen.G is only the third Korean seed they still, arguably, have the best ADC from the tournament in Ruler. With all these three teams having a similar playstyle and willingness to test new stuff, we’ll still have a Chinese team joining them. LGD looked very shaky at the start of play-ins, but quickly redeemed themselves by winning two quick best-of-fives in a very dominant fashion. This guaranteed them a spot in the main event and made them look terrifying to play against.

Our predictions for Group C

  1. Gen.G
  2. Fnatic
  3. LGD Gaming
  4. TSM
Group of Death

Looking back at Worlds 2018 and Worlds 2019, it is fairly well known that the LPL is dominating the international competition. This makes Top Esports the tournament favourite, as they won the LPL and are China’s first seed. Pair them with the number two from Korea in DRX and this group becomes immensely hard to get out of if you are not one of these two. Nevertheless, it looks like Unicorns Of Love have come to play this year. Their dominance in the play-ins can not be disregarded and they might be the new Albus NoX Luna, upsetting the major regions in groups. 

This leaves FlyQuest with a participation award this year. They have been very consistent domestically, but this might be where the weaknesses of NA will be exposed. Notwithstanding that Top Esports and DRX are most likely to make it out, UOL will try their best to deliver a big upset considering their current form.

Our predictions for Group D

  1. TOP Esports
  2. DRX
  3. Unicorns of Love
  4. Flyquest

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