The Worlds 2020 Tournament provided a welcome distraction to the end to a troubled year. With a lot of tournaments switching to online play throughout the split, returning to the biggest League of Legends event of the year and seeing crowds and players face off in person again made for an amazing tournament.
As per usual Worlds also provides us with a new view on the relative strengths of all the regions. In this article we will take a look at how the major regions rank up against one another and what lessons we learned from Worlds.
LCS is not doing great and everyone is very upset about it
The LCS has had an incredibly rough Worlds 2020. Seeing their number one seed, TSM, obtain an atrocious 0-6 score in a group only filled with quarterfinalists and a play-ins seed (although LGD admittedly is stronger than the average play-ins team). They’ve categorically been unable to elevate the level of the LCS. Flyquest obtained a solid 3-3 result, taking a key win off of Top Esports and beating the Unicorns of Love but they were unable to match DRX.
TSM with potentially the most disappointing Worlds showing ever.
1st ever major region #1 to go 0-6 in groups is something deserving of criticism & they’ll get lots of it.
That said, keep it classy & keep the criticism focused on gameplay. Personal attacks have no place here.
— Isaac CB (@RiotAzael) October 10, 2020
Team Liquid, while not making it out of groups and being the last seed of the LCS, had by far the strongest performance. They went 3-3 in a group with semifinalist G2 and finalist Suning Esports. The North American community has responded with a mix of despair and frustration, hoping that this year’s performance will be the tipping point to reforms that can elevate the region.
LEC has great highs but lacks consistency and the brilliance of 2019
Both MAD (who dropped out during the play-in stage) and Rogue (who got 4th in their group) were very underwhelming. MAD had been on the decline for a while, losing their great form as the split progressed and it seemed like the rookies were unable to surmount the pressure put on them during Worlds. Rogue, on the other hand, were not necessarily expected to do amazing in a group with LPL finalist JDG and tournament favorite Damwon Gaming who went on to win the event.
Our journey ends here, GGWP @DamwonGaming pic.twitter.com/H7T3O7ONyh
— G2 Esports (@G2esports) October 24, 2020
Fortunately for the LEC, they can always rely on G2 and Fnatic to perform. With both teams making it out of groups in second place and their historic clutch factor in international best of 5’s, there was the possibility for either team to return the 2018 or 2019 runs they made. Fnatic unfortunately was on the receiving end of the first reverse sweep in Worlds history, blowing a 2-0 lead against Top Esports and dropping out in quarters. G2, on the other hand, lived up to their LCK Killer reputation by unceremoniously destroying classic LCK team GenG. G2 however got destroyed similarly by eventual winners Damwon Gaming in semi’s, showcasing the LEC’s drop from 2nd best region down to third.
LPL is still the deepest region but no longer the absolute best
That the LPL’s pool runs deep is shown by the success of Suning, ramping up throughout the tournament and eventually making it to the finals over other tournament favourites Top Esports (and to a lesser extent JDG). As a complete dark horse, their performance got better and better as the tournament progressed and there was no way for any team to match their individual performances and unorthodox playstyle.
SwordArt & huanfeng#Worlds2020 pic.twitter.com/X0n4EJqmMv
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) October 30, 2020
Top Esports and JDG looked incredibly strong regardless, getting good placement in groups but falling short of their reputations as pre-tournament favourites. However, while Suning was the strongest out of the LPL teams and made them look quite weak, it’s clear that the LPL is still miles ahead of the LCS and the weaker LEC teams.
LCK reclaims its throne but does not quite surpass the LPL yet
The clear winner this year was the LCK, who were able to get both 3 teams to quarterfinals in GenG, DRX and Damwon Gaming as well as win the eventual tournament with the latter, barely being challenged throughout the entirety of Worlds 2020. The big question mark remains DRX – they seemed outmatched by TES, but were able to keep up with them in their best of ones during the group stage.
#1 IN THE WORLD pic.twitter.com/xH4llyTELG
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) October 31, 2020
GenG, on the other hand, seemed like a more classic LCK team that lacked the depth and adaptability to have continued international success (they also lost to G2, an LCK staple). The best team in the world, Damwon Gaming, has shown that not only can the LCK still deliver individual talent (every team that has won worlds since 2013 has had at least 2 Korean players) but also elevate their depth and play to a point where they are unmatched.
Wrapping up
In conclusion, this Worlds we learned that the LPL and LCK are now the two strongest regions in the World – LEC is trailing – and LCS has got to reinvent themselves to really have a shot.
Do you think 2021 will be the year for the LCS? Will LCK win yet another championship or is the LPL going to take back their crown? Join the discussion on social media or our Discord!
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