IG’s Ning completes the team
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The over month-long Worlds 2018 was filled with all sorts of exciting matches and surprising events that would make any respectable League of Legends fan satisfied. There were so many notable moments records broken and upsets that anyone would be hard pressed to pick just a few moments that captured the essence of the 2018 League of Legends World Championship. But that’s exactly what we did. Here are a few of the greatest things that happened at Worlds 2018.
The Complete Set
Invictus Gaming’s historic grand finals victory was thanks in no small part to the amazing feats of their jungler, Ning. That’s why it wasn’t surprising that Ning was named the MVP of the entire series following their dominant 3-0 win.
Ning is not only the first Chinese player to earn the Worlds Finals MVP award, he is also the missing link of an entire five-man Finals MVP lineup.
League of Legends’ Generation of Miracles
- Top: Jang “MaRin” Gyeong-hwan (SK Telecom T1)
- Jungler: Gao “Ning” Zhen-Ning (Invictus Gaming)
- Mid: Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (SK Telecom T1)
- AD Carry: Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk (Samsung Galaxy)
- Support: Cho “Mata” Se-hyeong (Samsung White)
You read that right. Since the introduction of the Worlds Final MVP award in the tournament’s 2014 iteration, the five winners of the award comprise a full team lineup. This veritable dream team can only be considered as League of Legends’ true Generation of Miracles. These five individuals have reached the peak of their respective positions and when the stakes were highest, they performed better than any player on the map.
Invictus Gaming’s Ning joins the prestigious lineup of LoL legends that will forever be remembered throughout the game’s history.
Base Race of Legends
It’s not at all uncommon for the Worlds iterations to have intense matches before the grand finals series. One prime example of such a series took place during the 2016 League of Legends World Championship. The Semifinals matchup between rivals SK Telecom T1 and the ROX Tigers featured thrilling matches that would be worthy of any world championship grand finals stage.
This year’s Worlds was no different as one particular matchup on the road to the grand finals at Incheon, South Korea, had the hearts of every spectator racing. In the first Quarterfinals matchup between China’s second seeded Invictus Gaming and the tournament favorites KT Rolster.
Many were expecting for KT Rolster to make quick work of the Chinese challengers given their dominant run both in the local South Korean tournament and the first stages of Worlds 2018.
Invictus had other ideas as they quickly tacked on two wins in the series to force KT in a precarious state. Fast forward to Game 3 of the series where both team’s bases were blown wide open leaving victory within reach for both teams. Invictus Gaming were doing their best at whittling down the KT nexus but the Korean dream team responded with a full force siege that brought the deciding game down to the absolute line. It was the base race to end all base races, which KT Rolster eventually won.
Ultimately, despite the major setback in games three and four, Invictus Gaming was able to come together when it mattered most. IG took down KT after a full best-of-five series to book their seat at the Semifinals stage.
The Wild West
Fnatic may have fallen prey to the rising Invictus Gaming, but they have made League of Legends history despite their 0-3 defeat at Incheon. No western League of Legends team has graced the grand finals stage of any Worlds tournament since 2011. The last time a western team was at Worlds, Fnatic won the world championship title.
The often overlooked achievement of Fnatic is a true testament to the amazing run the western teams had at Worlds 2018. From Cloud9 shutting down the defending world champions, Gen.G, in the group stage and their subsequent take down of Korea’s Afreeca Freecs in the Quarterfinals to G2 Esports‘ legendary victory over the Chinese favorite Royal Never Give Up.
The gap between the eastern and western teams that have dictated the flow of League of Legends for over 6 years has finally been dispelled. C9, FNC, G2, and even Team Vitality, have all proven that the West have every right to challenge for the world championship title. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a western team hoist the Summoner’s Cup in 2019.
Korea’s Demise
One the biggest shockers in Worlds 2018 was the overall poor performance of its former strongest region. What started with SK Telecom T1‘s failure to qualify for Worlds 2018, ended with the most lackluster performance from South Korea in the Playoffs stage. Well at least both KT Rolster and the Afreeca Freecs made it to the Playoffs, the defending world champions, Gen.G, didn’t even get past the group stage.
Korea’s failure in the grandest international League of Legends tournament in 2018 bears more weight because the entire tournament was held in South Korea. China certainly claimed their revenge against South Korea after no Chinese team made it to the grand finals of the 2017 League of Legends World Championship.
It would be unwise to consider that South Korea will never be able to make it back to the top of LoL, especially after their dominant five-year win streak at Worlds. However, as of the moment, China is the indisputable king of League of Legends and South Korea is nowhere to be found.
Welcome to the Dukedom
Invictus did not only take home the first Summoner’s Cup for the Chinese region, their Worlds victory also gave the world its first two-time world champion that wasn’t a member of SK Telecom T1. Invictus Gaming’s substitute jungler, Lee “Duke” Ho-seong, may have won his first world championship with SKT in 2016 but he is now the only player outside of SKT to win two world championships. The four other repeat world champions won all of their titles while fighting for the three-time world championship organization.
The legendary Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok still holds the individual title of most world championship titles at three. It was speculated that it would take a lengthy time to ever catch up to the seemingly unassailable record of the unkillable demon king, but Duke is hot on his trails.
Invictus Gaming have broken the mold for Worlds, they have effectively proven that the LPL is now the strongest region in the world. Teams from the other regions may be able to wrest the Summoner’s Cup away from IG, but they will always be remembered as the first team to put a halt to the Korean Dyansty.
The curtains have closed on an amazing League of Legends World Championship. There are only so many records that can be broken, but the best League of Legends players from around the world can sure deliver on amazing matches year after year. It’s been an intense ride from the Play-In Group stage at Seoul, South Korea to the Grand Finals match between Fnatic and Invictus Gaming at Incheon, South Korea. The tournament may be over but next year will be another opportunity for one team to RISE to the top.
