One of the most venerated Esports tournaments of the year alongside the International 10, the 2021 League of Legends World Championship is near the end. Eight teams from different regions rounded up for the same purpose. To be the best team in the competitive arena. Only four of them qualified for the semifinals after a series of fierce matches.
Here are the full results of the quarterfinals:
- Hanwha Life 0 — 3 T1
- DWG 3 — 0 MAD Lions
- Edward Gaming 3 — 2 RNG
- GEN 3 — 0 Cloud9
T1 squeezed Hanwha Life in the first best-of-five series of the knockout stage
The 2021 League of Legends World Championship knockout stage kicked off with a one-sided best-of-five series in the quarterfinals. T1 squashed Hanwha Life, who it faced off against in the LCK Regional Finals two months ago, and became the first Korean team to advance to the semifinals. The church of Chovy could not withstand T1’s pressure throughout the series and their significant Worlds 2021 journey ended here.
HLE will return to Korea with their heads held high
Both teams battled it out in the LCK Regional Finals to secure a spot in the 2021 World Championship. Although Hanwha Life dropped the first two matches of the series, they virtually made the miracle run happen and took T1 to the silver scrapes. There was no such difference between the two Korean representatives, contrary to what people thought. Hanwha Life gave their rookie player Willer a chance in the jungle position instead of Arthur. It reflected positively on the team.
As we observed both in the play-in stage and the group elimination, Hanwha Life created precious coordination between team members. They figured out how to involve their bottom lane in the game. In brief, HLE looked like a genuine team headed by Chovy. People put Hanwha Life in the last stand of group C in their pick-ems, but the LCK fourth seed qualified for the knockout stage ahead of Fnatic and PSG Talon by overcoming expectations. Being wiped out by the hands of T1 in the quarterfinals is not an upsetting result for them.
On the flip side, T1 took one step closer to the Summoner’s Cup. What each League of Legends fan wants most is to see Faker in the finals again. After he failed against SSG in the grand finals four years ago, Faker could not make it out of the semifinals while IG, FPX, and DWG lifted the trophy. T1, the most accomplished organization in LoL’s competitive history, seemed poised to turn back to its 2016 form and is determined to be the best team in the entire world.
EDG advanced to the semis for the first time in the organization’s history
The two most accomplished Chinese teams of 2021, RNG and EDG, faced off in the 2021 League of Legends World Championship quarterfinals to guarantee a spot in the next round. Before this series, RNG won 8 of 9 games they played against Edward Gaming. However, this time, they beat the odds and overpowered the last MSI champion in an intensive five-game series. The LPL’s first seed qualified for the semifinals by sending their domestic rival back home earlier.
Although Edward Gaming took part in the World Championships five times before, they could not make it out of the quarters. In 2021, EDG will represent the China region in the semifinals against the LCK second seed, GEN. As we saw in the previous round, they have to show more to confound the Korean titans. DWG KIA and T1 looked better than the LPL Summer Split winner in terms of macro game and drafts.
Edward Gaming should reduce individual mistakes, play around the bottom lane and give Scout a winning match-up. When they remember the working formula that lifted them to the crown in the last season, EDG has a sufficient skilled roster to hoist the trophy.
MSI 2021 winner knocked out of the tournament
People may think that RNG’s Worlds 2021 journey was distressing. We should not overlook that their jungle player, Wei, is still a rookie despite winning MSI 2021. Jungle and mid are the most critical roles in League of Legends in the current meta and RNG gave Wei a chance to prove himself.
The main issue here is Cryin’s active champion pool. Except for Twisted Fate and Azir, there is no other pick that Cryin can perform well for his team. Either Cryin will add several meta champs like Sylas and Orianna to his repertory, or RNG will consider replacing him with someone else. Three out of four Chinese teams underperformed in the 2021 World Championship because of both player gap and macro play. Something will change for the LPL representatives before the next split begins.
GEN will contend against EDG on the way to the finals
Fans watched an extremely close war between MAD, LNG, TL, and GEN in group D. All teams tied in 3W 3L at the end of the second round-robin. After two tiebreaker wins over TL and MAD, the Korean representative broke out of the purgatory by taking the first seed and paired with Cloud9, who left behind FPX and Rogue in the group of death.
The last best-of-five series of the quarters was more one-sided than people predicted. In the initial match, Cloud9 tried Yasuo-Lee Sin orchestra in mid lane but Gwak “Bdd” Bo-Seong astounded everybody with his Aatrox pick against Perkz. GEN was in the driver’s seat throughout the series. They both kept control of the games and won skirmishes around uncommitted monsters.
Contrary to what we saw from them in the LCK playoffs, GEN avoided unnecessary mistakes and stuck to the match plan. Bdd looked like the finest mid lane player in the tournament from the start point of Worlds 2021. He carried tiebreaker games on his shoulders and left a mark in the quarterfinals.
Cloud9 put everything on the table
After a rapid 3–0 victory over Cloud9, GEN will face off against EDG to force their way through the finals. Despite the Korean seed exceeding predictions, the player gap may occur beyond the quarters. Cloud9 made NA fans pleased with what they showed up during the 2021 World Championship. They found themselves in the knockout stage by taking down Rogue and the LPL second seed, FPX, one of the hottest teams to compete in the tournament. Semifinals was a dream for North America, and Cloud9 returned from the shore of making this dream come true.
Damwon KIA swept MAD Lions, winked at the finals
DWG KIA, who raised the Summoner’s Cup by defeating Suning in the finals last year, seemed poised to become the second team to win Worlds two years in a row in League of Legends’ competitive history. T1 reached that level between 2015–2017 led by Faker, and now another Korean team can bring LCK supremacy back to life.
DWG crushed the LEC first seed, MAD Lions in a rapid 3–0 series that many European fans demanded to watch over three games. After they fell to LCK titan at MSI 2021, they met each other in a best-of-five series again in the quarterfinals. This time, MAD Lions wished for vengeance.
However, no matter what they tried to hit DWG with, it was not enough. MAD could not curb the pressure throughout the entire series and, with this result, they were knocked out from the tournament after a distressing performance. Lions’ Worlds 2021 journey was rough from start to finish. The LEC representative could not make EU fans happy, not because they were overpowered by DWG, but because they did not show up for their best.
On the other side, DWG will face off against T1 in the semifinals. It will be a rematch of the LCK Finals. Whoever wins the series will be the favorite in the grand finals. Faker wants to get back his crown, and Showmaker is ready to prove that Faker is not the best. Both teams will set up unique tactics that have never been seen in the tournament.
Quick Stats:
- Most watched series: MAD vs DWG KIA — 2.3 million peak viewers
- Player with the best KDA: Keria — 36.0
- Top average kills: Clid and Ghost — 6.3 per match
- Still undefeated: DWG KIA
- Player with the finest CS score: Gumayusi — 10.1 per minute
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