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League of Legends News

How Riot Games Dominated Tournaments During a Pandemic

With the outbreak of the Covid-19, esports, like the rest of the world, ground to a halt. Starting with IEM Katowice in 2020, hundreds of events were canceled, switched to online, had their crowds removed, or were otherwise changed in response to the coronavirus.

But even as the rest of the esports world was canceling and moving their biggest tournaments online, Riot Games managed to put on three enormous tournaments: Worlds 2020, Mid-Season Invitational 2021, and Worlds 2021. But how did Riot Games succeed where so many other tournaments, such as Dota 2’s The International and CS:GO’s Majors, were forced into cancellation?

The feat of Worlds 2020

Image via Riot Games

Riot Games and their League of Legends competitive scene was not immediately immune to the cancellations that ripped through the esports world in the wake of Covid-19. With their leagues moved online, taken out of studios, and in some cases, postponed, competitive LoL and the newly revealed Valorant competitive scene suffered in early 2020.

Most notable was the cancellation of MSI 2020. The Mid Season Invitational 2020 was initially scheduled for May 2020. But after the outbreak of the Pandemic was canceled in April of that year. It looked like, in all likelihood, Worlds 2020 would share the same fate. After all, several massive international events like Worlds had to be canceled that same year. 

But Riot had an ace up their sleeve: The backing of parent company Tencent. It’s impossible to know just how much sway the state-backed Tencent corporation pulled to ensure that League of Legends got its Worlds 2020. But suffice to say, Worlds 2020 was held in China, with a limited crowd for some days. 

But beyond just greasing the gears with some corporate connections, the measures taken to ensure a safe environment were astronomical. Taking place on a closed set in the Shanghai Media Tech Studio, teams traveling to the event were all placed in the same hotel. Each squad was forced into a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Employees faced similar strict restrictions. Ultimately there were no reported cases during the event.

Many would criticize Riot’s all-spanning control of the competitive scene for League of Legends. But when faced with needing to operate an international tournament in a bubble, it’s hard to fault the total control.

Iceland saved the day in 2021

Image via Riot Games

With the Pandemic continuing into 2021, instead of the eight or 12-month crisis, many had initially predicted, more competitive events would have to be scaled down or canceled. With Riot’s newly launched VCT for Valorant and the new 2021 season of League of Legends starting, it looked like the continuing Pandemic would scupper it. But for several reasons, that wasn’t an option. 

In many ways, Riot Games was snookered by its past decisions. To have held Worlds 2020 and set expectations of what could be achieved in a pandemic so high, only to scale things back in 2021, would be unthinkable. It would have sent two messages: Firstly, Worlds 2020 was a mistake; an event born of hubris and brute force (accurate on many accounts). And secondly that it was a one-off miracle and not something that could be replicated by Riot Games again. Especially not outside of China, without the influence of Tencent on its side.

Scouring the globe, the ideal venue for Riot Games 2021 events became clear. Iceland and its capital of Reykjavík was the perfect location. Nominally a European location, but with enough restrictions and a small population to have prevented huge numbers of coronavirus cases, Iceland was ideal for esports events.

Valorant Masters, MSI 2021, and Worlds 2021 were all hosted in Reykjavik in the Laugardalshöll arena under similar lockdown conditions to Worlds 2020. As a result, the three huge events were pulled off with no press, no audience, and just players and staff isolated in arenas.

Looking ahead to MSI South Korea

Image via Asia Tech Daily

With all these successes, it’s no surprise Riot Games is again looking to hold an event during a global pandemic. This time it’s rumored to be in South Korea, with the League of Legends MSI 2022. What measures Riot Games will put in place remains to be seen. The company has operated well with strict measures, but the overall attitude to the Pandemic has changed over the past two years.

We live in a world where most competitors will be double or even triple vaccinated against the virus. The cases in South Korea have steadily increased over the past months, but so has testing. And in many cases, the Omicron variant of Covid-19 seems to have less severe symptoms, especially for the vaccinated. Under these conditions, Riot Games once again attempts to hold an international tournament. Over the past two years, they’ve proved they’re more than capable of doing so.

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League of Legends

DAMWON Gaming Win the Worlds 2020 Finals, Defeat Suning Gaming 3-1

DAMWON Gaming has defeated Suning Gaming to win the League of Legends World Championship. The LCK representatives lifted the Worlds 2020 Finals trophy after an insanely close 3-1 victory over their LPL opponents. In front of a packed stadium, a rarity this season, the Korean squad secured the first Worlds win for their region since 2017. In doing so, they became just the 8th team to win a World Championship in the 10th season of the competition.

The Worlds 2020 finals kicked off with a thrilling opening ceremony featuring multiple Worlds themes, augmented reality performances from KDA, and choral performances. Featuring previous Worlds hits such as Rise, Warriors, and Take Over, the multiple performances and highly featured live crowd hyped-up the event to no end.  The performance culminated in the reveal of the Worlds 2020 trophy.

Damwon immediately discovered the home-field advantage Suning would be playing with. The blistering applause for Damwon’s opponents versus the stoney quiet when Damwon were introduced was in stark contrast. Although Damwon were the clear favourites, the crowd, which had been absent from all other stages of this event, would clearly be a vital part of this finals.

Suning kicked off their game one draft with bans against Nidalee, Lucian and Twisted Fate, while Damwon took away Camille, Syndra, and Jhinn. The first round of picks saw the immediate pick up of Graves for Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu, with Suning prioritising Leona for Hu “SwordArt” huo-Chieh.

As Damwon got into game they immediately pressured the jungle, and grabbed the first drake. Even with Suning taking first blood, it was Damwon who quickly grabbed a Mountain Drake off the back of the toplane death. But even with these advantages Suning were able to hang on and prevent a snowball. Instead they turned multiple ganks around into their own set of kills, staying neck and neck with the Korean team.

Moving into the mid game Suning set up great vision to contest the fourth dragon. However, a series of disastrous fights that saw Suning split meant they still conceded it, and put the potential of a 28-minute Elder Dragon on the table. 

But out of nowhere, Suning were able to grab a series of kills that put them back into the picture to contest the Elder buff. After a crazy engage from SwordArt, Suning were able to grab the elder buff, while Chen “Bin” Ze-Bin suicided to buy time. However, after Damwon grabbed a pair of barons, things quickly collapsed for Suning, as they dropped the first game. The infernal drake advantage was just too much in the end.

For game two, Suning opted to put their top laner, Bin, on a more aggressive Fiora pick. They seemed to hope this would enable his hard-engage style from the previous game to be more effective. However, Damwon retained their strong execution, and were quickly able to gain the upper hand. But it was the Rengar from Lê “SofM” Quang Duy that was the difference maker. In a incredible performance, the LPL’s representatives punished Damwon’s reservation and discipline, catching them out.

With both Fiora and Rengar incredibly fed, there was nothing Damwon could do but watch as Suning pushed into their base. In a desperate engagement, Damwon attempted to prevent the inevitable. But with nothing to slow down the Fiora, Bin was gifted a pentakill, the first one ever in a Worlds final. Suning took game two, and pushed us to a guaranteed four-game matchup.

Game three, Dawmon shot out the gate with a quick first blood by Canyon onto Bin in the top. But after seemingly being in control the entire game, Suning pulled out a surprise fight at Baron and stole the momentum. With Baron buff and SUning attempted to push into Damwon’s base. However, with Elder Dragon spawning, both teams backed off to try and contest it. After a crucial fight at the drake pit, Suning came away with two dead and the Elder Dragon buff, while Damwon went back to base empty-handed.



But even empty-handed, Damwon are dangerous. Rushing to Baron, Damwon grabbed the second buff of the game, sprinted down mid and took the win. A single mistake spelled disaster for Suning, and Damwon were one victory away from a World title.

For game four, Damwon picked up a heavily long-ranged comp, while Suning opted for several comfort picks. The Korean team quickly jumped to a one kill lead, and with unprecedented aggression attempted to quickly put away Suning. The Chinese squad shot back with a number of trade kills, but the advantage Damwon had built in the lane looked to be just too much. Suning just appeared to fall apart, and ultimately, Damwon were able to secure the win.

Damwon lift the Summoner’s Cup after an incredible series, while Suning are left to hope they can battle their way through the highly competitive LPL scene to reach these heights again. It’s been an incredible Worlds, which despite the challenges presented by Covid-19, has still lived up to expectations. Congratulations DAMWON Gaming!

Don’t worry! Even though the season is over, you can still count on Dart Frog for all the latest League of Legends news. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!

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League of Legends

Team Liquid’s Jensen signs 4.2 million dollar deal

Worlds 2020 might not be wrapped up, but the big offseason deals are already flying! Namely Team Liquid’s starting mid laner, Nicolaj “Jensen” ( Link listen) Jensen, reportedly signing a $4.2 million, three-year deal resigning with his squad.

Travis Gafford broke the news of Jensen’s 4.2 million dollar deal, and it quickly spread across social media.

The move locks in one of North America’s most talented regional stars for Team Liquid. What’s more, the signing prevents TL’s major rival, Team SoloMid, from making a bid for the player. TSM recently saw their own starting midlaner, Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg, retire to a coaching position. As a result, TSM are just one of many NA organisations in the market for a new star mid player.

Jensen was a key part of the Team Liquid squad that represented NA at Worlds 2020 this year. After a sketchy season that saw the team fall to third seed, the squad redeemed themselves with one of the best international performances for NA in recent memory. Jensen has always been an international-calibre star, but his NA teams have often prevented him from proving himself on the Worlds’ stage.

Jensen’s 4.2 million dollar deal makes him one of the highest paid players in North America – for now. Especially as rumours stir that one of the best players in Europe, G2 Esports’ Luka “Perkz” Perković, may be headed to free-agency.

Wherever Perkz lands, TL have still managed to secure their talented mid star and in many cases, team leader. With more security in their roster, the organization can make aggressive moves in the off season.


Keep your eyes peeled on Dart Frog on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for all the latest League of Legends news and analysis.

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League of Legends

DAMWON Gaming Defeats G2 and Advances to Worlds 2020 Finals

DAMWON Gaming have defeated G2 Esports at the Worlds 2020 Semi-finals advancing to the final stage of the tournament. The win marks the first time since 2017 that LCK team has advanced to the Worlds finals. 

In a 3-1 victory, Damwon proved to many that they are the best team Korea has produced in many years. They viciously dismantled G2, with methodical play that saw them in the right place at the right time at every moment of the game.

The matchup started out badly for G2. In a definitive drubbing by Damwon, the European representatives couldn’t manage more than a token defence against the strongarm play of Damwon. The bot lane was the crucial part of this game, with the support picks being the make-or-break champions. G2 were clearly not ready for Leona, even picking it in the second game.

Game two seemed initially to be more of the same. But a huge swing of momentum at a crucial fight just before baron catapulted G2 into the lead. After one of the largest Baron buff plays of the tournament, G2 took the second game to prevent a 3-0

Yet in game three it was a devastating performance from Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu on Graves that punished G2 for even thinking they could rotate on the map. Despite some heroic attempts at team fighting, G2 came up short in this crucial game. Rasmus “Caps” Borregaard Winther and Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle in particular seemed out of sorts in this matchup. The pair would have previously been standouts in the event, but against Damwon looked to be suffering. 

Game four started off disastrously, with Caps being first-blooded and pushed out of lane. And front here, they went from bad to worse for G2. Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee’s braum roamed the map and ganked all lanes. The support player dominated his opponents, and before long it was 6-0. Then, in the shortest finish to a Worlds’ semi-final in history, Damwon pushed down the mid lane, deleted an inhibitor, and crushed G2’s hopes.

The loss perhaps marks the end of an era for G2, the greatest team ever fielded by Europe. For the past three World Championships, this team has made at least semi-finals. Along with Fnatic, they’ve been a constant face of their region on the international stage for almost four years. 

DAMWON Gaming, on the other hand, look unstoppable. There’s little to suggest that either Top Esports or Suning Gaming would have any chance against this incredible team. Worlds 2020 continues tomorrow with TES taking on Suning for a chance to face this dominant LCK squad.

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League of Legends

Damwon takes out DRX in 3-0 stomp at Worlds 2020 quarter-finals

DRX has been eliminated from Worlds 2020 in the Quarter-finals after being defeated 3-0 by fellow LCK team Damwon Gaming. The loss whittles the number of Korean teams at Worlds to just 2, with only Damwon and Gen.G remaining.

The 3-0 defeat was a widely predicted result, with Damwon’s dominance of the group stage, and seasonal advantage over DRX weighing heavily on the minds of analysts. Nonetheless, DRX went into the game with a plan, attempting to neutralise the strong macro game of their opponents with individual skill.

In game one, DRX’s poke comp attempted to whittle down Damwon from range. With a Jayce/Orianna composition, the plan seemed to be to delete Damwon’s champions before they could engage. However, expecting mistakes from their opponent’s proved to be too ambitious for DRX, who found themselves 0-1 after the first matchup.

For their second draft, DRX allowed the Ornn to go over to Damwon’s Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon. Their plan was to counter with Jax, a strong fighting champion who could out brawl the Ornn. And then as the game started, it looked like DRX might have a chance. They took an early kill lead, out maneuvering their opponent’s Twisted Fate pick with their own Galio. 

However, just as in the first game, the squad underestimated Damwon’s raw ability. DRX’s opponents then flipped a pair of team fights against them, coming out on top thanks to perfect execution. As a result, DRX were now down 0-2 and clinging to life.

With their Worlds survival on the line, DRX then broke out the unorthodox Vel’koz pick for Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon, facing off against Damwon’s Orianna pick. And in the early game DRX did well, with Chovy grabbing a strong lead versus his opponent. But are a series of bizarre misplays, Damwon found themselves in the lead again.

After more disastrous teamfights for DRX, Damwon took a dominant position on the map. They pushed down lanes and trapped DRX in a defensive position. With little to strike back with, DRX finally rolled over and in 25 minutes, Damwon wrapped up the series. 

Now the question remains whether anyone can stop Damwon Gaming? This LCK team is one of the strongest we’ve seen out of the regions since the heyday of SKT T1. The winner of G2 and Gen.G semi-finals match will have their work cut out for them in the semi-finals. 

The Worlds 2020 quarter-finals continues tomorrow. For all the latest Worlds 2020 news and analysis.check out Dart Frog on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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League of Legends

Riot’s OCE League, the OPL ceases operations: What Happens Now?

On Wednesday morning, just as Worlds 2020 entered its first major break in the action, Riot Games shocked the world by announcing the OPL would cease operations. The news broke on the OPL’s own official Twitter page and in brief announcement on the LoL Esports website.

The scrapping of the league has mortified the League of Legends community, especially those hailing from the OCE region. Riding high after an incredible showing for Legacy Esports during Worlds 2020 Play-Ins, the region has seen it’s hopes crash violently to the ground.


As the gravity of the dissolution of an entire region sinks in, it’s time to ask questions. Such as what happens next for OCE League of Legends?

A New Life in the LCS

With the dismantling of the league, all 60+ OPL players are now potentially without jobs. To soften the blow, Riot Games announced that players from the OCE region would no longer take up import slots on LCS rosters. This essentially means NA organisations are free to sign any former OPL talent they wish.

The idea of free movement for talent between NA/OCE isn’t new. The concept that OCE talent wouldn’t count towards an import slot in the LCS was first floated in 2019. Following NA’s disastrous performance at Worlds 2019, the OCE and Latin America were both considered for this treatment. Additionally, the move to a major region from the OPL isn’t without precedent. One of the OPL’s biggest stars, Mitchell “Destiny” Shaw, signed with the LEC’s Origen in 2019.

However, the free movement to NA initiative will be of little consolation for the vast majority of Oceanic players. The LCS already has a fully talent base. Despite criticism of the region’s development of talent, it still manages to fill out its 50 roster slots each season. Chances of OCE talent making it to an academy roster, let alone a main LCS lineup, are slim indeed. But there’s certainly some standouts who could make the jump.

OPL Qualifying Tournament for Worlds 2021

The other consolation offered for fans of the OCE region is that teams would not be completely shut out of the international scene. As per the announcement, Riot Games “will also hold qualifying tournaments in OCE for both MSI and Worlds in 2021, ensuring teams from the region will continue to be represented at our two major global events next season.” 

As a result, OCE will still have a chance to be represented in the wider world. But without an official league, teams will be desperately waiting for two events a year. Riot Games gave no elaboration in their announcement – and so it’s unclear what talent pool these teams would be drawn from. Or how teams are supposed to sustain themselves without an official league. Without support, it would be incredibly challenging for an organisation to maintain an internationally competitive team in the OCE region.

Again this promise will do little to comfort OCE fans and players who have seen their league dismantled in front of them.

Picking up the Pieces

The one shining light for the OCE is that League of Legends isn’t going to go away completely. With a player count somewhere in the hundred thousands at the last count, OCE is on a similar level to the likes of the CIS or Singapore. With the former represented by the Unicorns of Love in the group stages of Worlds 2020 and the latter a part of the PCS, which has two representatives at the same event, there’s no reason the OCE couldn’t still be competitive internationally.

The OPL had been built on a strong foundation of grassroots events, amateur play, and independent tournaments. OCE teams had great showings at Intel Extreme Masters events and the Gamescom International Wildcard Tournaments. Combined with an exploding playerbase at the time led to the initial founding of the OPL. Five years on, and Riot is pulling the plug.


When Riot Games says “the OPL has not met our goals for the league,” it ultimately refers to the failures of Riot Games. Not the OPL. The OPL had incredible talent who competed at an international level for many years. But even this hasn’t helped to staunch the bleeding of a declining player base in the region. This was further compounded by a lower level of cosmetic sales thanks to unfavorable exchange rates in the region. A combination of reasons that likely saw Riot Games decide to cut the cord on an unprofitable region with limited scope for growth.

Out of the ashes of this abandonment, the OCE region will likely return to the smaller tournaments. And perhaps thanks to this the region will begin to shine again, and teams like Legacy Esports and MAMMOTH, who made waves on the international stage, will rise again.

Worlds 2020 continues tomorrow. For all the latest Worlds 2020 news and analysis check out Dart Frog on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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League of Legends

Worlds 2020 Day One: Europe surges while NA looks shaky

The main event of Worlds 2020 has just started, and after day one there’s already some shake ups and upsets. However the biggest upset of all was the seeming one-sidedness of the majority of day one’s games. Apart from the two closing matchups, Worlds 2020 opened up with four decisive stomps, leaving a quartet of teams desperate for international redemption.

Four Stomps to Start Worlds 2020

The start of the stomps saw FlyQuest fall to the LPL’s Topsports. Fly were definitely not the favorite headed into the matchup, but many expected them to at least put on a serviceable performance. Instead, the team were utterly smashed by their Chinese opponents, setting the scene for the rest of the day. 

DRX of the LCK were up next, taking on the upstart Unicorns of Love from CIS. The CIS team had earned a lot of fans after their fantastic play-in performance, but fan-favourite status wasn’t enough to take home a win. They lost out to the Korean top seed in dramatic fashion. 

Europe’s Rogue were next up to the block in what was expected to be a competitive game against PSG Talon. However, a Malphite pick in the top lane for Finn “Finn” Wiestål proved to be too much for Talon. The rock golem smashed their opponent’s to pieces, facilitating numerous team fights, and wrapping up the game.

Damwon Gaming took on JDG in a matchup that pitted the two best teams in their group against each other. Yet despite JGD being able to match DWG with early aggression, the long range poke from the Nidalee jungle

Competitive Finish to Day One

Finally after four stomps in a row, it was time for some competitive action. The contest between between LGD and Gen.G immediately became the best match of the day, with LGD’s Ling “Mark” Xu carrying with his hyper aggressive play-style.

But after two incredibly dragon fights, it was Gen.G who came out on top. The Korean second seed showed how dangerous they were when allowed to rotate the way they want to. Their macro game is some of the best in the tournament.

The late game of Day One pitted the rival western regions of NA and EU against each other as Fnatic and Team SoloMid clashed. With Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg and Oskar “Selfmade” Boderek on Evelynn, it was a battle of the comfort picks. After Fnatic grabbed an early lead, TSM’s map plays, led by jungler Mingyi “Spica” Lu kept the NA hopefuls in the game. But a disastrous series of plays by TSM allowed Fnatic to take the lead, and after momentarily promising an upset, the NA squad became the final losing team of the day. 

Worlds 2020 Day One Results:

FlyQuest 0 – 1 Topsports

Unicorns of Love 0 – 1 DRX

Rogue 1 – 0 PSG Talon

Damwon Gaming 1 – 0 JD Gaming

Gen.G 1 – 0 LGD Gaming

TSM 0 – 1 Fnatic

Worlds 2020 continues tomorrow. For all the latest Worlds 2020 news and analysis.check out Dart Frog on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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League of Legends

Worlds 2020 Play-In results: Who advances to groups?

In one of the hardest fought Play-in stages in recent memory, four teams have advanced to the Worlds 2020 groups after a tight series of games. Team Liquid, PSG Talon, Unicorns of Love, and LGD Gaming will all advance to the next stage of the event. It is set to kick-off on Saturday October 3. 

But despite the huge names that have made it through, it was no cake walk. LGD in particular had tremendous trouble, almost dropping out of contention entirely. Their opening days were a disaster, and only by clawing things back in the knock-out stage did they eventually advance.

The two automatic advancements, PSG Talon and Team Liquid effectively flipped their groups on their head. The NA team in particular were uncharacteristically dominant. They then advanced to the main stage after highly proficient play-ins. However, the other major western region, Europe, was left to mourn the loss of MAD Lions. The underdog (or underlion) team were eliminated from contention by Turkish TCL team SuperMassive in a close 3-2 defeat.

But things weren’t sunshine for the TCL representatives. The pink ponies themselves, The Unicorns of Love from the CIS summarily defeated them earlier today. The CIS team looks to beat it’s regions best record at worlds in 2016, where Albus NoX Luna advanced to the quarter finals after upsetting some of the biggest names that year. UoL are potentially a far better team than that 2016 lineup, and could easily cause some heart break in the Worlds bracket.

The first day of Worlds 2020 main stage games looks something like this:

Keep your eyes locked on Dart Frog on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for all the latest League of Legends Worlds 2020 news and analysis.

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PSG upset LGD as Worlds 2020 kicks off with a bang

After what felt like an eternity of waiting, Worlds 2020 is finally here, and just one day into the Play-in stage, there’s already been twists and turns – namely the upset of LGD Gaming by PSG Talon.

LGD Gaming, the number four seed of the LPL Chinese league found themselves thoroughly defeated by the second seed of the PCS. The team based in Hong Kong upset the home-town LGD in incredible circumstances. Not only were the team seen as heavy underdogs headed into the matchup, but they were also competing with three substitute players.

How did PSG upset LGD?

Shortly before the start of Worlds 2020, it was revealed that due to visa issues PSG would have to play the majority of the play-in stage without three of their starters. Korean’s Kim “River” Dong-woo and Park “Tank” Dan-won would be forced to sit out for the entirety of the stage, while Wong “Unified” Chun Kit, their starting Bot Laner would miss the majority of the games.

This left PSG without their starting Jungler, Mid Laner and Bot. However in terms of stand-ins and replacements, they couldn’t’ have done better. The team picked up Hsiao “Kongyue” Jen-Tso, adn Chen “Uniboy” Chang-Chu from PSG’s PCS rivals ahq eSports Club. They also recruited Chen “Dee” Chun-Dee, a player who’s been taking a break from the game for over a year. Still, this trio of superstar Taiwanese players took to the rift with gusto and showed their opponents up at every turn.

In a match that started slow, PSG swung the game in their favour with better teamfights and map awareness. The LPL team seemed paralysed in the opening of the matchup, failing to live up to the early-game aggression which the region is famous for. Instead, in a slow, methodical and decisive fashion, PSG was able to take control and defeat LGD.

The standout was freshly returned star Dee, who hasn’t taken part in a competitive League of Legends match for over a year. On loan from Machi Esports, the ADC player has been a standout for the LMS, ECS, and now PCS, but his performance at Worlds is still a surprise.

What now for LGD?

For a team widely expected to easily sweep through their group and head to the main event, LGD must now lick their wounds and return to the drawing board. The team seemed to lack their trademark aggression and even superstar jungler Peanut seemed off-kilter, even though he’s no stranger to the international stage.

However, there are plenty of games ahead in the play-in stage for LGD. They face the CIS’s Unicorns of Love on Sunday, and Latin America’s Lyon Gaming tomorrow, on Saturday, September 26. These should be a pair of slam dunks for LGD, but having already shown weakness, they’re in danger. UoL are no pushovers, and Latin American teams historically love to cause upsets. There’s a real risk that LGD could fail to make it out of the stage.

You can catch all the action from the matches on Riot Games’ official YouTube and Twitch channel.

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League of Legends

Worlds 2020 Groups: What are the Groups after the Draw?

Worlds 2020 is just around the corner, and as of September 15 we now know the groups. In a draw broadcast which aired live on Twitch and YouTube, groups were revealed for both the play-in stage and main event.

As a result, we have some hype competitions on the way, in both the play-in stage and main stage. Rivalries between EU and NA are sparking right from the start of the tournament, while the latent LCK/LPL rivalry will be a focus in the main event.

The groups are as follows:

Worlds 2020 Play-In Groups

Group A

  • Team Liquid (NA)
  • MAD Lions (EU)
  • Legacy Esports (OCE)
  • SuperMassive (Turkey)
  • INTZ e-Sports (Brazil)

Group B

  • LGD Gaming (China)
  • PSG Talon (Hong Kong)
  • V3 Esports (Japan)
  • Unicorns of Love (CIS)
  • Rainbow7 (Latin America)

Worlds 2020 Main Event Groups

Group A

  • G2 Esports (EU)
  • Suning Gaming (China)
  • Machi Esports (Hong Kong)
  • Play-In Winner

Group B

  • Damwon Gaming (Korea)
  • JD Gaming (China)
  • Rogue (EU)
  • Play-In Winner

Group C

  • Team SoloMid (NA)
  • Fnatic (Europe)
  • Gen.G (Korea)
  • Play-In Winner

Group D

  • Top Esports (China)
  • DRX (Korea)
  • FlyQuest (NA)
  • Play-In Winner

Initial analysis projects some great games, and some unfortunate starts for many popular teams. The LEC’s Rogue has pulled the group of death in Group B, while G2 seemingly has a free escape from Group A. FlyQuest are in a similar situation in Group D, while TSM will have to battle past Fnatic for a chance.  Overall, there definitely seem to be some big winners and losers before the event has started.

Regardless of the groups though, anything can happen when the matches kick off. And keep your eyes peeled on Dart Frog on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for all the latest League of Legends news and analysis.