The League of Legends group stage is over and the final eight teams have been determined.
Right after Invictus Gaming routed Team Liquid in the final group stage match, Alfonso “Mithy” Rodriguez moved from the analyst desk to the stage to draw the quarterfinal matchups.
All three teams from the LCK and LEC made it to the quarterfinals, alongside two squads from the LPL. No LCS team made it to the Knockout Stage, something that hasn’t been seen at Worlds since Worlds 2015.
So who’s playing who?
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The first quarterfinal match features Griffin, the number two seed from Korea, taking on defending world champions, Invictus Gaming.
In the group stage, Griffin cruised to a 5-1 record after losing their opening game to G2 Esports. They finished the group stage by getting revenge and beating G2 for two games in a row, allowing them to even the records and win the tiebreaker.
Invictus Gaming lost to Damwon Gaming two times in the group stage, but went 2-0 against both Team Liquid and ahq e-Sports Club in order to advance to the Knockout Stage with a 4-2 record..
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FunPlus Phoenix will face last year’s runner-up, Fnatic, in their quarterfinal matchup.
FPX finished the LPL Summer Split as champions and entered LoL Worlds 2019 as China’s top seed. They dropped their opening game to J Team, the LMS Summer Split champion, and questions immediately arose about their legitimacy. They redeemed themselves by going 4-1 from there.
The other group stage loss came from LEC representative Splyce, but the team walked away looking strong by getting revenge on J Team and beating Splyce in a tiebreaker to take the top seed in its group.
Both this match and Griffin vs. Invictus Gaming will take place on Saturday, October 26.
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When Splyce took a game off FPX they found themselves fighting for the top spot in their group. While the LEC squad didn’t win, it was an impressive performance considering how shaky they looked during the Worlds 2019 play-in stage.
Splyce got off to a rocky start in Worlds but ultimately managed to advance into the main event by defeating Unicorns of Love. It’s been a strong run for the team, but unfortunately they drew three-time world champion SK Telecom T1 for their quarterfinal match.
After failing to qualify for Worlds last year, SKT looks to be back in top form here. They are at the forefront of Korea’s resurgence at Worlds, which saw all three LCK teams take first place in their groups. SKT lost just one game in the group stage, falling to Fnatic on Group C’s last day.
SKT still finished with a 5-1 record and look like the favorites to win the event.
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Damwon Gaming gained notoriety at last year’s Worlds after defeating several top competitors in scrims. They went on to qualify for the LCK, go 13-5 in the Summer Split, and earn a spot in Worlds through the regional qualifiers.
At Worlds, Damwon kept step with SKT and Griffin by earning a 5-1 record. They now face the MSI Champions G2 Esports.
After winning MSI, G2 earned a 15-3 record in the LEC Summer Split and defeated Fnatic in five games to win their fourth LEC championship.
After threatening to go undefeated in the group stage, G2 lost two games in a row to Griffin and fell into the number two spot from their group.
Damwon Gaming vs. G2 Esports SK Telecom T1 vs. Splyce will take place Sunday, October 27.
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