Welcome to the esports roundup. This will be the place to get your weekly esports fix. I’ll be covering all major esports events, with a focus on: “League of Legends,” “Overwatch” and “Super Smash Brothers.” If you have any suggestions for games I should cover just shoot me an email at: Mario.DaSilvaMelo@du.edu.
League of Legends:
With regional gauntlets wrapping up around the world this past weekend, we now have the 24 teams who hope to do their regions proud in this upcoming World Championship. However, for the purpose of this article, I will only be focusing on the four major regions . Play-ins are set to begin October 2.
League of Legends European Championship: G2 Esports and Fnatic went head to head in a riveting Grand Final that saw G2 Esports complete their reign over the region in a five game series. The series was back and forth with Fnatic striking in the first and third games, that saw some very impressive performances from top laner Bwipo on Jax. However, G2 would not go quietly into the night. They dominated game 2 off the back of Jankos’ Jarvan. His stellar early game pathing saw G2 fly to the races with a 2.5 thousand gold lead. From there G2 Esports did what they normally do and ended the game in under 30 minutes. Games four and five were much closer affairs, with the former seeing the glorious return of Claps, instead of his alter ego Craps, to the rift. In the final game of the series botlaner and captain, Perkz brought out his signature Syndra bot and led his team to another championship. G2 Esports are heading into this world championship as the favorites in the eyes of many fans, players and analysts alike. G2 are followed by Fnatic, as the second seed, and Splyce as the third seed.
League Championship Series: On this side of the Atlantic the Gauntlet saw Clutch Gaming dismantle both Flyquest and Counter Logic Gaming. The next series, versus Team SoloMid, saw Clutch Gaming go down 0-2. However, this was not the end as Clutch Gaming turned the series on its head with their aggressive, flex pick heavy play style. In the end, they completed the reverse sweep to take down TSM 3-2. They join Team Liquid and Cloud 9 in representing North America at World’s. Team Liquid represents North America’s greatest hope of winning an international tournament, but you can never forget about Cloud 9. Historically, it has been Cloud 9 that has performed the best for North America, but one has to wonder if that was the team being great or the so called “play-ins buff.”
League of Legends Pro League: Crossing over to the other side of the world we have the LPL. The LPL Grand Final saw FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) take down perennial powerhouse, Royal Never Give Up, in a 3-1 series. The series saw FPX pull out their classic flex picks around mid-laner Doinb. This is the first time FPX will represent China on the international stage, but that does not mean they should be underestimated heading into the tournament. The LPL is undoubtedly the strongest it has been, so the entire region is sure to be a big threat at the event. FPX and RNG will be joined by 2018 World Champions Invictus Gaming. Although, IG had a rocky summer season you can never count them out because of superstar solo laners TheShy and Rookie. Those players, combined with the improved synergy from adding a new jungler, makes Invictus Gaming a worthy adversary for any team.
League Champions Korea: The year is 2015, and SK Telecom T1 are going into World’s as Korea’s shining star after completely decimating their opponents in the finals. Actually, this happened a few weeks ago. Surprised? You really shouldn’t be. After a terrible 2018, SKT managed to rally this year to win both regional seasons, and make it to top 4 at the Mid-Season Invitational, a tournament held between the spring and summer seasons. Although they are not the favorites going into World’s, they are definitely strong contenders. Super star, and greatest player of all time, Faker, had a phenomenal playoff run leading SKT to the tournament after beating Griffin 3-1. Korea has been defined by its slow, methodical playstyle, which is not the preferred strategy of many teams around the world. However, everyone saw SKT shift up their play at the Mid Season Invitational basically overnight. So, like always, they are a region to be respected internationally. SKT is joined by Griffin, at second seed, and Damwon Gaming, as the third seed.
Overwatch:
After falling to loser’s brackets early on, San Francisco Shock steamrolled their way to the Grand Finals, by sweeping every opponent that stood in their way. Their opponent this time, however, is the mighty Vancouver Titans. These are the best two teams in the Overwatch League, and they have met twice in stage finals. Not only is this match momentous because of the heated rivalry between the two teams, but also because they are 1-1 in stage finals. This match will be the tie breaker between two powerhouse teams in the Overwatch League. The final will be played on Sunday, Sept. 29, at 1:00 p.m. MST.
Super Smash Brothers:
As the “Summer of Smash” comes to an end, both main titles have established a status quo. When it comes to Super Smash Brothers: Ultimate, MKLeo has consistently been able to get himself out of dire situations and clutch out the win. The thing that sets him apart from the rest of his competition is his ability to remain cool in extreme situations, simply because he has had more practice doing it than anyone else in the game. However, this does not mean that he doesn’t have competition. Tweek, Samsora and Marss are right behind him vying for the number one spot in the world. Just recently at Shine 2019 Samsora ended MkLeo’s immaculate streak of winning from the loser’s bracket. On the other hand, in Super Smash Brothers: Melee, we saw Team Liquid’s Hungrybox continue his dominance over the game. He ended the summer ranked as the best player in the world, with Team Envy’s Wizzrobe and Tempo Storm’s Axe ranked no. 2 and 3, respectively. Transitioning into the end of the year, the biggest news in the scene will undoubtedly be Panda Global’s rankings for both games, which should be coming out in a few months.
