The 2019 ''League of Legends'' World Championship Final was a ''
League of Legends
''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for War ...
'' (''LoL'')
esports
Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...
series between
FunPlus Phoenix
FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) is a Chinese professional esports organization owned by video game developer FunPlus. It has teams competing in ''League of Legends'', '' Valorant'', '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'', '' Fortnite Battle Royale'' and ' ...
(FPX) and
G2 Esports
G2 Esports (G2) is a European esports organization headquartered in Berlin, Germany, with players competing in ''League of Legends'', ''Valorant'', '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'', '' Hearthstone'', ''Rocket League'', ''Rainbow Six Siege ...
on 10 November 2019 at
AccorHotels Arena
Accor Arena (originally known as Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, and previously as AccorHotels Arena; also known as Bercy in competitions where commercial names are prohibited, such as in the Olympic Games) is an indoor sports arena and concert ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, France. It marked the
ninth
In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second.
Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...
final of a
''LoL'' World Championship and the first time either of the teams had reached the world finals. It was the first time FPX had reached Worlds. FPX were one of three Chinese representatives from the
''League of Legends'' Pro League at the 2019 Worlds, the others being
Royal Never Give Up
Royal Never Give Up (RNG) is a Chinese esports organization whose '' League of Legends'' team competes in the League of Legends Pro League. It was established in May 2015. RNG won the 2016 LPL Spring Playoffs, 2018 LPL Spring Playoffs and 2018 ...
and
Invictus Gaming
Invictus Gaming (IG, sometime stylized as iG, zh, s=iG电子竞技俱乐部, l=iG Esports Club) is a Chinese multi-game esports organization founded in 2011 by businessman Wang Sicong. They are primarily known for their ''Dota 2'', ''League of ...
, the victors of the
previous Worlds. G2 Esports were one of three European representatives from the
''League of Legends'' European Championship alongside
Fnatic
Fnatic (pronounced "fanatic"; also stylized as fnatic or FNATIC) is a professional esports organization headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Founded 23 July 2004, the team has players from around the world, across a variety of games, such ...
and
Splyce
Splyce (SPY) was a professional esports organization and media company based in Rochester, New York. Their ''League of Legends'' team was a franchise member of the LEC, Europe's top professional league for ''League of Legends''. Splyce announc ...
.
The series was a
best of five
There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly k ...
and was played in front of over 15,000 spectators, with more than 40 million concurrent
live stream
Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but n ...
viewers and a total of over 100 million total viewers. The series ended 3-0 in favour of FPX after a dominating performance from all their players.
FPX's
jungler Gao "Tian" Tian-Liang earned the title of
Most Valuable Player
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
. The series marked the first international victory for FPX, though they would go on to fail to qualify for the
2020 World Championship.
Background
![Map of MOBA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Map_of_MOBA.svg)
''
League of Legends
''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for War ...
'' is a 2009
multiplayer online battle arena
Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is a subgenre of strategy video games in which two teams of players compete against each other on a predefined battlefield. Each player controls a single character with a set of distinctive abilities that im ...
(MOBA)
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
developed by
Riot Games
Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher and esports tournament organizer based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in September 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill to develop ''League of Legends'' and went on t ...
.
Each year, Riot hosts a
World Championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
(Worlds) featuring the most successful teams
globally throughout the year-long season. The
2019 Worlds, the ninth edition of the World Championship, as with its predecessors, was played on the map "Summoner's Rift", a play-field featuring three lanes defined by their locationtop, middle, and bottomand two jungle quadrants, mirrored diagonally down a neutral zone known as the river. Summoner's Rift is played by ten players, five per team,
through an isometric perspective as players control characters, known as "champions", split between five roles respective on their location on the map: top, jungle, middle, attack damage carry, and support. The latter two are both played in the bottom lane.
The two teams are referred to as red and blue. The red team spawns in the top right and the blue team spawns in the bottom left.
In professional play, players choose their champions during champion select. This consists of four phases: banning phase and picking phase, both of which occur twice. The blue team starts, banning one champion at their discretion. This is then interchanged between the teams until six total champions have been banned, three per team. Blue side then picks their first champion, followed by red side selecting two champions before blue side completes the first phase of picking and banning by also locking in two champions. The teams then begin the second banning phase, starting with red side. The teams interchange until four additional champions have been banned, for a total of ten. Red side also initiates the second picking phase by selecting one champion. Blue side then responds by picking two champions before red side finalises the process by locking in the final champion.
The ultimate goal of the game is to destroy the enemy team's Nexus.
This is accomplished through leveling up and purchasing items with gold, the in-game currency.
In the lanes there are turrets and inhibitors, defensive objectives for the opposing team to destroy, as well as a constant stream of minions that can be killed for gold and experience. Similarly, the jungle contains monsters that reward gold and experience upon defeating them.
In the river, there are two major neutral objectives. The Rift Herald spawns on the top side of the river and on death, rewards the team with an active item that respawns the Rift Herald, dealing significant damage to the opposing team's defensive structures. At 20 minutes in, the Rift Herald disappears and is replaced by Baron Nashor. Baron Nashor provides the team that kills it with substantial
buffs. On the bottom side of the map,
dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
s spawn.
Random elemental dragons that provide small permanent buffs to the acquiring team continue to spawn until 35 minutes in, at which point the Elder Dragon will spawn that upon being slain, provides the team with a powerful temporary buff. Gold and experience points are also obtained through killing these neutral monsters.
Route to the final
G2 Esports
G2 Esports
G2 Esports (G2) is a European esports organization headquartered in Berlin, Germany, with players competing in ''League of Legends'', ''Valorant'', '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'', '' Hearthstone'', ''Rocket League'', ''Rainbow Six Siege ...
were dominant throughout the entirety of 2019, both domestically and internationally. In their domestic region, the
''League of Legends'' European Championship (LEC), they would triumph over
Origen
Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, ...
to win the
2019 Spring Split. The match was a
five game series and occurred in the
Ahoy Arena in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
on 13 April 2019 with an attending audience of 15,000, along with
livestream
Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...
s hosted through
Twitch.tv and
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. G2 won the series 30 in under 75 minutes of combined game time. This set an LEC record, beating the former fastest five game series by over half an hour. G2 would also win game three, the final game, in a record 18 minutes 31 seconds. They would ultimately finish the Spring Split with a 135 record.
G2's victory qualified them for the
2019 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI). An international tournament, they would need to compete against teams from other regions. After reaching the semi-finals, G2 beat the
''League of Legends'' Champions Korea (LCK) representative
SKT T1
T1 (previously known as SK Telecom T1 or SKT T1) is a South Korean esports organization operated by the T1 Entertainment & Sports, a joint venture between SK Telecom and Comcast Spectacor. At the end of 2003, SK Telecom took the StarCraft Te ...
, a team considered a favourite of the tournament, to reach the finals. The North American
League Championship Series
The League Championship Series (LCS) is the semifinal round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969. In 1981, and since 1995, the two annual series have matched up the winners of the Division Series, and ...
representative
Team Liquid
Team Liquid is a multi-regional professional esports organization based in the Netherlands that was founded in 2000. With the release of '' StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty'', Team Liquid signed their first professional players.
In 2012, Team Li ...
would be G2's opponent after Team Liquid
upset the Chinese
''League of Legends'' Pro League (LPL) representative
Invictus Gaming
Invictus Gaming (IG, sometime stylized as iG, zh, s=iG电子竞技俱乐部, l=iG Esports Club) is a Chinese multi-game esports organization founded in 2011 by businessman Wang Sicong. They are primarily known for their ''Dota 2'', ''League of ...
to reach the finals. G2 beat Team Liquid 30 in a best of five. The series was the quickest international best of five in League of Legends history. This victory marked the first time a European team had won the event.
![G2 Esports lifting the 2019 MSI Trophy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/G2_Esports_lifting_the_2019_MSI_Trophy.png)
After MSI, the
LEC 2019 Summer Split commenced. Here, G2 would perform better than in the previous season, ending with a 153 record.
The team would once again reach the finals, this time facing
Fnatic
Fnatic (pronounced "fanatic"; also stylized as fnatic or FNATIC) is a professional esports organization headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Founded 23 July 2004, the team has players from around the world, across a variety of games, such ...
in the
Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall
The O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall (honorarily named ''Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall'' since 2016), which is a part of the Olympic Athletic Center of Athens (O.A.C.A.) «Spyros Louis» ( el, O.A.K.A. «Σπύρος Λούης»), was completed i ...
in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
on 8 September 2019.
The series would become one of the most viewed esports events of all time, peaking at 850,000 livestream viewers.
This finals would prove more difficult for G2 than the Spring Split, with the first game going the way of Fnatic. The series would then ping-pong between the two teams until the scoreline was 22. In the final game, G2 would draft a team composition that would be strong in the early game, in order to gain a quick lead and
snowball
A snowball is a spherical object made from snow, usually created by scooping snow with the hands, and pressing the snow together to compact it into a ball. Snowballs are often used in games such as snowball fights.
A snowball may also be a large ...
into an early victory. This would prove successful, and G2 would win the series win 32. This victory cemented G2 as the European
first seed for the
2019 ''League of Legends'' World Championship and marked their fourth Worlds appearance.
G2 was seeded into Group A for Worlds alongside
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...
,
Cloud9
Cloud9 Esports, Inc., or simply Cloud9 (C9), is an American professional esports company based in Santa Monica, California. The company was originally founded as a professional ''League of Legends'' team by Jack and Paullie Etienne in May 2013 ...
, and
Hong Kong Attitude
Hong Kong Attitude (HKA) is a professional esports organisation based in Hong Kong. Its parent company is Hong Kong Esports, and all of its teams were previously known by that name from October 2014 to 16 May 2017.
Hong Kong Attitude previou ...
.
G2 remained undefeated throughout the group stage until their final game where they would lose against Griffin. This resulting in a tied overall record of 51 for G2 and Griffin and in determining the winner of the group, G2 lost the tie-breaker, finishing second in the group. Having progressed into the knockout stage, G2 defeated
Damwon Gaming
DWG KIA, commonly referred to as DAMWON KIA ( ko, 담원 기아) and formerly known as DAMWON Gaming ( abbr. DWG; ko, 담원 게이밍, links=no), is a South Korean professional esports organization. Its ''League of Legends'' team competes in ...
, a representative from the LCK, in the quarterfinals and SKT T1 in the semifinals to reach the 2019 ''League of Legends'' World Championship Final.
FunPlus Phoenix
After disappointing performances from
FunPlus Phoenix
FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) is a Chinese professional esports organization owned by video game developer FunPlus. It has teams competing in ''League of Legends'', '' Valorant'', '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'', '' Fortnite Battle Royale'' and ' ...
(FPX) in their domestic region, the ''League of Legends'' Pro League, in 2018, where they ended with records of 910 and 811 in the Spring and Summer Splits respectively, the team saw major roster changes, as
Kim "Doinb" Tae-sang replaced the midlaner and Gao "Tian" Tian-Liang, previously of
Suning Suning may refer to:
* Suning.com, a Chinese retailer, originally corner Jiangsu Road and Ninghai Road, co-founded by Zhang Jindong, was known as Suning Appliance Co., Ltd. and Suning Commerce Group Co., Ltd.
* Suning Holdings Group, the fourth lar ...
, joined as the jungler. These changes would prove successful as they would begin 2019 by achieving a third-place finish in the Spring Split. This split proved useful for building synergies between the team's players. For instance, Doinb developed a playstyle that involved consistently leaving his own lane to roam the map accompanied with Tian and Liu "Crisp" Qing-Song, the support, to
gank
This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players.
0–9
A
...
opposing lanes with a significant numbers advantage.
In the Summer Split, FPX displayed dominance, losing only one series all split to
Invictus Gaming
Invictus Gaming (IG, sometime stylized as iG, zh, s=iG电子竞技俱乐部, l=iG Esports Club) is a Chinese multi-game esports organization founded in 2011 by businessman Wang Sicong. They are primarily known for their ''Dota 2'', ''League of ...
, the victors of the
2018 ''League of Legends'' World Championship. The team would face off against
Bilibili Gaming
Bilibili Gaming (BLG) is a professional esports organisation based in China. It was formed in December 2017, when Bilibili, Chinese video sharing website, acquired the I May ''League of Legends'' roster. The team expanded into ''Overwatch'' in ...
in the semi-finals, losing the first game but ending the series 31. The same would occur in the finals against
Royal Never Give Up
Royal Never Give Up (RNG) is a Chinese esports organization whose '' League of Legends'' team competes in the League of Legends Pro League. It was established in May 2015. RNG won the 2016 LPL Spring Playoffs, 2018 LPL Spring Playoffs and 2018 ...
, which they would similarly win 31 to claim the 2019 Summer Split title. This victory made FPX the first seed for China at the World Championships and marked their first appearance at the World Championship.
FPX was seeded into Group B for Worlds, alongside
J Team
J Team is a Taiwanese professional esports organization owned by JY Entertainment with players competing in ''League of Legends'' and ''StarCraft II''. Its ''League of Legends'' team competes in the Pacific Championship Series, the highest l ...
,
GAM Esports
GAM Esports is a professional ''League of Legends'' team competing in the Vietnam Championship Series (VCS), the highest level of competitive ''League of Legends'' in Vietnam. The team first rose to international prominence in 2017, after their ...
, and
Splyce
Splyce (SPY) was a professional esports organization and media company based in Rochester, New York. Their ''League of Legends'' team was a franchise member of the LEC, Europe's top professional league for ''League of Legends''. Splyce announc ...
, the lattermost winning their respective play-ins bracket.
FPX began their Worlds stint by losing to J Team on the first day of groups, however they would then win three games in a row before losing to Splyce. After this loss, they would win one more game before competing in a tiebreaker against Splyce as they had both ended groups with a 42 record. FPX would win this game, finishing first in the group.
Having advanced from groups into the knockout stage, FPX continued to use their signature playstyle and would trump Fnatic in the quarterfinals and Invictus Gaming in the semifinals to reach the finals against G2.
Background and pre-series
![AccorHotels Arena Bercy,Paris](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/AccorHotels_Arena_Bercy%2CParis.jpg)
G2 Esports were alongside Fnatic in representing the LEC and FPX were alongside Royal Never Give Up and
Invictus Gaming
Invictus Gaming (IG, sometime stylized as iG, zh, s=iG电子竞技俱乐部, l=iG Esports Club) is a Chinese multi-game esports organization founded in 2011 by businessman Wang Sicong. They are primarily known for their ''Dota 2'', ''League of ...
, the victors of the
previous Worlds, in representing the LPL. This series marked the first time either team had reached the World Finals, despite G2 having made three appearances in past World Championships.
The Finals were a best of five series, with the first team to win a total of three games being crowned the champions.
![2019 League of Legends World Championship Finals - Opening Ceremony](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/2019_League_of_Legends_World_Championship_Finals_-_Opening_Ceremony.png)
The series was held on 10 November 2019 at
AccorHotels Arena
Accor Arena (originally known as Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, and previously as AccorHotels Arena; also known as Bercy in competitions where commercial names are prohibited, such as in the Olympic Games) is an indoor sports arena and concert ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, France for 15,000 spectators. The event was
livestreamed
Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...
via
Twitch.tv and
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
in multiple languages, as well as through the official ''LoL Esports'' website.
Globally, Riot reported that the finals alone reached 44 million concurrent online viewers at its peak, with an estimated total of over 100 million total viewers over the course of the series. This equated to an
average minute audience of 21.8 million. Prior to the commencement of the games, Riot held an opening ceremony featuring performances from musical artists that had collaborated with ''League of Legends'' throughout the year. This began at 13:00 local time (
UTC+02:00).
The ceremony began with
Valerie Broussard
Valerie Broussard (born 10 February 1991; () is an American singer and songwriter. Her works, in collaboration with other artists, have appeared in theme tunes for television shows. She released the single "Sideways" in collaboration with Illeni ...
performing "Awaken", a song released in conjunction with Riot at the start of 2019 to celebrate the beginning of the game's ninth season. This was immediately followed by
True Damage
''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a custom map for ''Warcraft III'', Ri ...
, a fictional hip-hop group akin to that of
K/DA
K/DA is a virtual K-pop girl group consisting of four themed versions of ''League of Legends'' characters Ahri, Akali, Evelynn and Kai'Sa. (G)I-dle members Miyeon and Soyeon as well as American singers Madison Beer and Jaira Burns provide the ...
, featuring
Becky G
Rebbeca Marie Gomez (born March 2, 1997), known professionally as Becky G, is an American singer and actress. She first gained recognition in 2011 when she began posting videos of herself covering popular songs online. One of her videos caught t ...
,
Keke Palmer
Lauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer (born August 26, 1993) ( ) is an American actress, singer and television personality. Known for playing leading and character roles in comedy and drama productions, she has received a Primetime Emmy Award, five NAACP ...
,
Jeon So-yeon
Jeon So-yeon (; born August 26, 1998), known mononymously as Soyeon, is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer signed to Cube Entertainment. She first gained attention for competing in the television shows ''Produce 101' ...
of the
K-pop
K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...
girl group
G-Idle
(G)I-dle (), stylized in all caps, is a South Korean girl group formed by Cube Entertainment in 2018. The group consists of five members: Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi and Shuhua. Originally a sextet, Soojin left the lineup on August 14, 2 ...
,
Duckwrth
Jared Lee (born May 13, 1989), better known by his stage name Duckwrth (pronounced "duckworth" and stylized in all caps), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and artist.
Early life
Jared Lee was born in South Central Los Angeles on M ...
, and
Thutmose
Thutmose (also rendered Thutmoses, Thutmosis, Tuthmose, Tutmosis, Thothmes, Tuthmosis, Thutmes, Djhutmose, Djehutymes, etc.) is an Anglicization of the Ancient Egyptian personal name ''dhwty-ms'', usually translated as "Born of the god Thoth".
Th ...
, performing "GIANTS". Finally, the 2019 World Championship promotion song "Phoenix" was performed by
Cailin Russo
Cailin Russo is an American model and musician. She is best known for her appearances in Justin Bieber music videos.
Early life
Russo was born to rock musician Scott Russo, lead vocalist of the band Unwritten Law, and Jodi Russo (née Kirtland) ...
and
Chrissy Costanza
Christina Nicola Costanza (born August 23, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She is best known as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the pop rock band Against The Current.
Early life
Costanza was born on Augu ...
to conclude the opening ceremony. Throughout the ceremony,
holographic
Holography is a technique that enables a wavefront to be recorded and later re-constructed. Holography is best known as a method of generating real three-dimensional images, but it also has a wide range of other applications. In principle, i ...
projections were cast onto the stage to visualise ''League of Legends'' characters in the real world.
The English streams were cast by Chris "PapaSmithy" Smith, Trevor "Quickshot" Henry, and
Sam "Kobe" Hartman-Kenzler.
Team line-ups
Neither team made any line-up changes going into the finals.
FunPlus Phoenix's head coach was Chen "WarHorse" Ju-Chih and G2 Esports' head coach was Fabian "GrabbZ" Lohmann.
Series
Game 1
The champion selection phase for the first game commenced shortly after the conclusion of the opening ceremony. FPX were on blue side which gave them the opportunity to ban and pick the first champions of the game. In the first banning phase, FPX opted to ban Syndra, Gragas, and Kai'Sa, while G2 Esports banned Pantheon, a champion that had been banned in every previous game throughout the World Championship; Qiyana; and Xayah. Following the first ban phase, FPX first picked Nautilus, a champion the casters described as a "flex pick", or a champion capable of being played in multiple positions.
It was ultimately played by Doinb, their midlaner. G2 Esports responded by locking in Varus for Perkz and Ryze for Wunder.
For the remaining picks of the first pick phase, FPX chose Lee Sin for Tian and Sivir for LWX, and G2 chose Tahm Kench for Mikyx as their final pick.
Before the second pick phase, G2 banned Blitzcrank and Braum and FPX banned and Rek'Sai and Olaf. As G2 were on red side, they got the first pick of the second pick phase, selecting Elise for Jankos. This was followed by Gangplank and Thresh from FPX, for GimGoon and Crisp, respectively, and with G2's last pick, they chose Pyke for Caps.
Upon the players loading into the game, it was paused immediately due to technical problems for several minutes.
The teams opted to "split" the map, meaning both junglers began in the opposing team's jungle. After three minutes of play, the
first blood of the match went the way of FPX after GimGoon, assisted by Tian and Doinb, successfully executed a
tower dive against Wunder.
A few minutes later, Tian took the first drake of the game. Eleven minutes in, the fight involving all ten players erupted when Doinb and Jankos met in the top side river. Crisp was brought very low but avoided death by using a stopwatch (a consumable item that temporarily makes the user invulnerable) when Caps used his ultimate ability. Ultimately, no member of either team died. One minute later Perkz was caught out in the top lane and was killed by LWX. Tian furthered his team's lead in the 14th minute by taking the second drake of the game, though G2 Esports traded it for the Rift Herald as compensation, which they then used to destroy the first tower for additional gold.
The game ended in just under 41 minutes.
Game 2
Game 2 ended in 25:38 minutes, with a final kill scoreline of 20-4, in favour of FPX.
Game 3
G2 took first blood in the third game, but lost in 30:22.
FPX would claim the Summoner's Cup in their first World's appearance.
Post-series
The tournament had a base prize pool of
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
2.225 million. Of this, the winners, FunPlus Phoenix, received 37.5% ($834,375) of the pool. For coming second, G2 was rewarded 13.5% ($300,375). Alongside this, the prize pool is increased through a percentage of the commissions from the year's promotional "Championship"
skin
Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation.
Other cuticle, animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have diffe ...
a form of virtual cosmetic that modifies the look of the player's champion.
Championship skins are given to champions that are seen consistently in the
professional leagues and tournaments that year. 2019's Championship skin was given to Ryze, who had a 95.2% presence at the
2019 Mid-Season Invitational. As with previous world champions, FPX worked directly with Riot's visual department to release skins for their chosen champions, with one per player. The skins imitate the team's design, hence FPX's skins include "a fiery motif, with bird-like masks".
The chosen champions were Gangplank, picked by GimGoon; Lee Sin, picked by Tian; Malphite, picked by Doinb; Vayne, picked by LWX; and Thresh, picked by Crisp.
The profits of these skins go in part to the players and their team, as well as to their respective professional league.
In the following season, FPX would fail to qualify for the
2020 ''League of Legends'' World Championship after an inconsistent year.
Despite accruing 30 championship points in the LPL Spring Split from finishing third, the team was unable to perform in the Summer Split and were knocked out of contention by Invictus Gaming in the loser's bracket qualifier.
In their stead,
Top Esports
Top Esports, previously known as Topsports Gaming, is a Chinese esports organization. Its ''League of Legends'' team competes in the ''League of Legends'' Pro League (LPL), the top-level league for the game in China. It was founded on 21 Decemb ...
,
JD Gaming
JD Gaming (JDG), officially JDG Intel Esports Club, is a Chinese professional esports organization based in Beijing. It has two ''League of Legends'' teams: a main roster that competes in the ''League of Legends'' Pro League (LPL), the top-lev ...
,
LGD Gaming
LGD Gaming is a Chinese professional esports organization based in Hangzhou. It is one of the oldest esports organizations in China and currently has players competing in ''Dota 2'', '' Honor of Kings'', ''League of Legends'', ''Overwatch'', and ...
, and
Suning Suning may refer to:
* Suning.com, a Chinese retailer, originally corner Jiangsu Road and Ninghai Road, co-founded by Zhang Jindong, was known as Suning Appliance Co., Ltd. and Suning Commerce Group Co., Ltd.
* Suning Holdings Group, the fourth lar ...
represented the Chinese region.
G2 Esports would qualify and attend the next year's Worlds representing Europe alongside
Fnatic
Fnatic (pronounced "fanatic"; also stylized as fnatic or FNATIC) is a professional esports organization headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Founded 23 July 2004, the team has players from around the world, across a variety of games, such ...
,
Rogue, and
MAD Lions
MAD Lions is a Spanish esports organisation owned by OverActive Media. Its main ''League of Legends'' team, which was rebranded from Splyce, competes in Europe's top-level league for the game, the LEC. Its secondary ''League of Legends'' team co ...
.
G2 would ultimately place third, losing to
DAMWON Gaming
DWG KIA, commonly referred to as DAMWON KIA ( ko, 담원 기아) and formerly known as DAMWON Gaming ( abbr. DWG; ko, 담원 게이밍, links=no), is a South Korean professional esports organization. Its ''League of Legends'' team competes in ...
in the semi-finals. DAMWON Gaming would go on to win the tournament.
Notes
References
Bibliography
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*
{{League of Legends
2019 multiplayer online battle arena tournaments
League of Legends World Championship
League of Legends competitions
Sports competitions in Paris
Sports competitions in France