Surprises were expected in the 2019 League of Legends Worlds Championship but even so, this is a bit of a shock. The LMS’s J Team took a win against Group B favorites and LPL first seed FunPlus Phoenix, and in dominant fashion.
JT began pressuring FPX’s lanes early in the game, but FPX knew how to respond. They drew first blood and rotated to take the first Dragon. The early game continued with calm, safe plays, as neither team wanted to risk giving the other a significant lead.
Although FunPlus had a lead kill, J Team focused on objective control and made a move for the second dragon. FPX tried to contest it, but JT secured the dragon and followed it up with a successful team fight.
Into the mid game, both teams were playing it safe by trying to push each others’ lanes and grab towers, with a few minor skirmishes happening along the way. When the timer hit the 20-minute mark, FPX started playing more aggressively and had a slight gold lead. However, their confidence wasn’t enough for them to take control of the game.
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After taking their fourth Dragon in a row, FPX engaged in a fight that gave JT the opportunity to take the lead. While the chaotic fight initially seemed to be favoring FunPlus, things quickly shifted in J Team’s direction as they broke FPX’s positioning, picked up kills, and moved on to take the Baron while the Chinese team waited to respawn.
JT utilized the Baron buff by pushing the top and mid lanes up to their inhibitor towers. But once they tried doing the same in the bot lane, FPX denied the push, forced JT back, and took yet another Dragon.
Even deep into the game, things were still razor thin. The second fight for the Baron decided the outcome of the game.
FPX went for the objective and JT quickly responded. The Taiwanese team picked up the kills, the Baron, and the nexus.
FunPlus will look to recover on Monday at the expense of Splyce, while J Team will take on GAM Esports.
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