The group stage of the 2021 World League of Legends Championship ended with chaotic breaks. For some of the favorites, this meant the end of their dreams with the title. In the first twelve matches of the group stage, despite the often unpredictable “Best of 1” format, almost everything went as the experts had imagined. The legs of the second leg turned the order of the four groups upside down. Cloud9 set the stage for more surprises in Group A: Team NA on Friday benefited from three unexpected defeats to FunPlus Phoenix, who were already considered big favorites to win the championship. This collapse broke the tie between a team from China and Cloud9 and Rogue – the organization from North America prevailed.
MAD Lions turn things around
In addition to Cloud9, the LEC’s MAD Lions celebrated a comeback after the team was 1:2 during the first round that actually didn’t have good cards. However, two wins on Monday broke the tie against LNG Esports, which the Spanish team won. The LCS Team 100 Thieves in Group B failed to make the turn. Despite the victory over group favorite EDward Gaming, it was only enough to secure a third place finish at the end. Instead, the multiplayer T1 world champion with superstar Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok set a path to winning the title again and ensured the group’s victory was successful in all of the return matches.
Europe in mourning
European fans must have looked on with sadness at the developments in Group C: Germany’s Elias “annoyed” with Fnatic was unable to meet his Iceland teammates for personal reasons – not just a bad omen. Support player Zdravec ‘Helisang’ Galapov saw the German’s absence in particular. The synergy of this duo has been an important part of the team’s recipe for success in the past. Fnatic’s only win in the group stage was against the group winners Royal Never Give Up asking the question: “What would have happened if the team was complete?”
How long does it last?
