Nick G. November 4, 2018
The 2018 League of Legends World Championship has been absolutely rocked by upsets throughout the group stage, but Tuesday made for a much more familiar scene.
South Korea’s first Seed KT Rolster exited Group C, and China’s EDward Gaming finished behind them.
Team Liquid and MAD Team will end their Worlds journeys in groups. While an 0-6 record from MAD Team was disappointing but somewhat expected, Team Liquid’s 3-3 third place finish left much to be desired from the North America’s top seed. KT Rolster was the definite favorite in the group, but it was not out of the question that TL could best EDG through superior macro.
KT ended up being a primary factor in deciding Liquid’s fate, defeating the NA LCS squad in the opening game of the day. EDward Gaming beat up on MAD Team before Team Liquid bounced back with their own win against MAD. If KT Rolster was to beat EDG in their final meeting, Team Liquid would only have to follow suit to force a tiebreaker.
Team Liquid would never get that chance. EDG put another brick in the wall of dominance China has built up this year and upset KT Rolster. TL would go on to defeat EDG, but only after the previous result eliminated the team from Worlds.
KT Rolster joins fellow LCK representative Afreeca Freecs and the LPL's Royal Never Give Up as the first seeds coming into the quarterfinals. Once Group D is decided tomorrow, the first seeds will be matched up against G2 Esports, Cloud9, EDG, and the second seed from Group D.
KT Rolster came into the group looking dominant, but EDG’s challenge to the best team in the group came as quite the shock to LCK fans. The LPL mainstay looked a bit shaky throughout the summer before getting it together for the LPL Regional Qualifier. Exquisite teamfighting headlined by a strong showing from Lee “Scout” Ye-chan has EDG returning to the quarterfinals for the fifth year in a row.