Gen.G and Fnatic are dark horses to watch for at Worlds 2020

William Davis Published 12/09/2020

The favorites for the 2020 World Championship have already been agreed upon by both experts and fans. But which teams could end up surprising everyone with a deep run at the tournament?

22 teams will fight for glory and the Summoner’s Cup at Worlds in Shanghai, and some teams are bigger favorites than others. The LPL is considered the strongest regional league, represented by favorites such as Top Esports and JD Gaming. Both teams have been performing at a high level all year. LCK’s DAMWON Gaming is also considered a contender for the title, while G2 Esports from Europe can’t be underestimated either. 

As we see every year, some teams will underperform and others will surprise. For this year, there are two teams that might have the ability to make a deep run in the tournament despite not being considered a favorite. 

Can Gen.G’s controlled style win the World Championship?

Gen.G is the first team to look at for a surprise performance at Worlds. Everyone knows that Gen.G is a good team, but as the third seed from the LCK, they are not considered favorites to win the tournament. 

Gen.G was millimeters from reaching the 2020 LCK Summer Split final, but ended up losing the fifth and final game to DragonX in the semifinals. Several fans and experts thought that Gen.G was the best-performing team in that series, but they didn’t manage to close it out. 

In the Regional Finals, Gen.G redeemed themselves by beating T1 convincingly 3-0 to secure themselves the last LCK spot at Worlds. Because of recent format changes, Gen.G will be automatically qualified for the main event due to the absence of the VCS teams. This gives Gen.G a small advantage, but they still have the chance to end up in a difficult group. 

Gen.G has a scary roster. They have shown in the LCK that their controlled playstyle can work, but also be abused by dominant early-game teams. 

Mid laner Gwak “Bdd” Bo-seong and bot laner Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk will be the key players for the team, while Kim “Clid” Tae-min will try to enable them from the jungle. If they manage to play their best game, it will be hard for even the top teams to keep up. 

Gen.G has been consistently good domestically throughout the whole year but has needed the last push to go all the way. The World Championship is their chance to put in that last bit of effort.

Will Fnatic perform on the international stage again?

Fnatic has an impressive resume when it comes to international tournaments. They often perform better than expected and there is reason to think that this could also be the case this year.

Last year, Fnatic surprised many by making it out of the group stage. They were later knocked out by FunPlus Phoenix in the quarterfinals, who went on to win the tournament.

Fnatic has only made one roster swap since last year’s Worlds. Oskar “Selfmade” Boderek has replaced Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen in the jungle, but he has not looked like a downgrade for Fnatic. The Polish jungler has been crushing it on carry champions such as Evelynn and Hecarim, and might be one of Fnatic’s greatest assets on the international stage. 

This year, Fnatic reached both LEC finals only to be stopped by G2 in both of them. Fnatic has shown that they can play some good League of Legends, but their struggles against G2 has prevented them from proving themselves completely. 

At Worlds, Fnatic will have the chance to prove themselves against other top teams from around the world and some might fit better into their playstyle than G2. Fnatic likes to be an underdog and knows how to perform under pressure. The bot lane combination of Martin “Rekkles” Larsson and Zdravets “Hylissang” Galabov will be key players to keep the team at a consistent level, while the solo lanes occupied by Gabriël  “Bwipo” Rau and Tim “Nemesis” Lipovšek will have to step up as we saw from them last year. 

Fnatic might also be able to pull out some innovative compositions as we saw last year, where they surprised the whole scene with Veigar in the mid lane. 

Read Also

Esports Betting

BLG vs T1: Best betting odds and picks for MSI 2026 Hannan Mundia BLG and T1 are among the favorites to win the 2026 MSI tournament, which is why so many fans are anticipating their match in the bracket stage’s first round. After BLG’s performance at last year’s World Championship, those who haven’t kept up with the team’s performance may not expect much from it. However, with the LPL team’s revamped roster and strategic approach to League of Legends, there’s a good chance ...

Esports Betting

League of Legends Classic will be back in 2026, here’s what we know Wasif Ahmed Riot has announced that League Classic will come out in Season 3 of 2026, as a game mode. League Classic is “old League of Legends”, the ability to play the game on a specific patch from over a decade ago. How much information do we have? What is League Classic, when will League Classic release, and what patch will it be for? Ever wanted to rediscover the old version of ...

League of Legends

Karmine Corp vs Team Liquid: Best betting odds and picks for MSI 2026 Hannan Mundia While both Karmine Corp and Team Liquid lost one series each, both teams will have another chance to continue in the 2026 MSI play-in stage to potentially qualify for the bracket stage. Both participating teams got swept by T1 in this MSI stage, bringing them to the third round. Team Liquid’s performance against Deep Cross Gaming was impressive, but does that really mean that it has what it takes to ...

Esports Betting

T1 exposes Karmine Corp with 3-0 win at League of Legends MSI 2026 Wasif Ahmed T1 just beat Karmine Corp 3-0 in the play-in stage of the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational. More importantly, T1 turned KC’s strengths into weaknesses. The bot lane and teamfight prowess that shone in the LEC were no match this time. The match started with Karmine Corp picking a disrespectful draft, blind picking three immobile squishies. Right off the bat, a botched invade put their jungle and bot lane at a disadvantage. ...

Esports Betting

The top 12 best players at MSI 2026 Wasif Ahmed The 2026 Mid-Season Invitational is mere days away, and it will see the best players in the world face off. The reward is a prize pool of $2,000,000 and extra slots at the upcoming World Championship. So, who are the top 12 best players at MSI 2026? As the most decorated player in recent NA history, Inspired is LYON’s star player. In one word, this jungler is smart. Inspired’s signature ...

League of Legends

KeSPA Cup returns in July 2026 exclusively on Disney+ Hannan Mundia The KeSPA Cup is slated to return sooner than most expected, though its date and exclusive Disney+ partnership raises some questions. The KeSPA Cup is an annual tournament organized directly by the Korea e-Sports Association. While it doesn’t get nearly as much attention as Riot-organized leagues and events, LCK powerhouses still participate in it. 2025’s KeSPA Cup is still fairly fresh since it took place in December. This year’s tournament ...

Esports Betting

Best betting odds and picks for T1 vs Karmine Corp at MSI 2026 Hannan Mundia This year’s MSI is still ongoing, and the next match in the play-in stage is slated to pit T1 against the LEC’s Karmine Corp. Both participating teams absolutely destroyed their respective opponents in this stage’s first round. With two 3-0 scores, both Karmine Corp and T1 have established themselves as powerhouses. However, the level of opposition was clearly different, and that fact may show its face in this match. Tournament: ...