North American League of Legends caster and analyst Joshua “Jatt” Leesman has given his thoughts on how the World Championship has shifted from being about which region is the best in the world, to which team is the best.
For many years, competitive League was dominated by South Korea. The region was always ahead of the curve, and as a result, their representatives had a stronghold at every international tournament. And since Korea was always a meta trailblazer, other regions decided to copy their playstyles to try to find similar success—but the LCK was always one step ahead.
In 2018, however, the LCK lost its place atop the League world after many of the other regions realized that they wouldn’t be able to defeat Korea by following in their footsteps. By creating their own path and playstyle, regions like Europe and China began to flourish. And for the first time since season one, Korea failed to reach the Worlds finals.
This year, Worlds has been extremely close. One region is no longer dominating over the rest because the major regions’ top teams are all good enough to win it all. Most of the top-tier organizations have looked great throughout the tournament and there isn’t a surefire winner like previous years.
“This is the League of Legends ecosystem that we’ve all always hoped for,” Jatt said. “Exceptional teams from multiple regions can compete and be the best. We have that this year—and semifinals are going to be incredible.”
Jatt also pointed out that the top representatives from Korea, China, and Europe have all made it to the semifinals, with the only “odd man out” being the defending world champions, Invictus Gaming. This is what competitive esports should look like compared to one region stomping the rest.
Buckle up, League fans. These upcoming Worlds semifinal matches might be the best ones yet. Worlds resumes on Saturday, Nov. 2 with Invictus vs. FunPlus Phoenix at 6am CT.
Published: Oct 29, 2019 04:21 pm