2018 LoL World Championship: Previous winners and their road to success (Season5-7)

League of Legends World Championship is a massive annual event where all the top teams from different regions play against each other to see who is the best. Every year we get to see different players showcasing their talent while trying to be the best.

Previously we had look at the World Champions from season 1-4 and now we move forward analyzing the champions from season 5-7 and their path to success.

Season 5

After failing to qualify for worlds in 2014 SKT T1 came with a new iteration of its squad. The team qualified for World Championship after winning the domestic league in a convincing fashion.

16 teams participated in the league with a total prize pool of $ 2,130,000 US Dollar.

SKT T1 went 6-0 in the groups crushing everyone in their path. They defeated AHQ 3-0 comfortably in the quarterfinals. This was followed by a convincing 3-0 win in the semifinals against Origen putting a stop to their dream run.

SKT T1 faced another South Korean team KOO Tigers in the finals. KOO Tigers had an impressive run till finals. They were considered underdogs for the majority of the tournament. They, however, fell short to SKT T1 in the finals losing 3-1.

SKT T1 became the first team in the history to win two championships. Faker became the first player to win two championships previously winning the tournament back in 2013 with the old line up of SKT T1. Faker also established himself as one of the biggest players around the league scene. Marin was the MVP of the tournament as he was an absolute beast in the top lane. However, he left the team after the tournament joining Chinese team LGD.

SK Telecom T1 roster-

Top Lane- MaRin

Jungle- Bengi

Mid Lane- Faker

AD Carry- Bang

Support- Wolf

Season 6

SKT T1 Telecom by now had established itself as one of the best team of all time. They managed to qualify for the Worlds after coming second in the split. ROX Tiger, previously known as KOO Tiger had dominant year beating SKT T1 to claim the domestic league.

SKT T1 cruised through the group stage dropping only 1 game and going 5-1. They faced Chinese team RNG in the quarterfinals but easily managed to defeat them by 3-1.

In the semi-finals, they faced Rox Tiger who was one of the tournament favorites. In one of the most thrilling series in the history of League of Legends SKT T1 triumphed 3-2. After winning game 1 SKT Trailed 2-1 continuously losing game 2 and 3. Bengi who was benched for the two games came back in game 4 and changed the pace of the game. He along with Faker carried SKT T1 to their straight second finals in a row.

In the finals, SKT T1 faced Samsung Galaxy another South Korean team who weren't that dominant in the regular split but had an impressive run in the Worlds. SKT T1 managed to go 2 games up in the series but SSG managed to level the series after making a comeback. SKT T1 battled out in the final game defeating SSG and thus claimed their third title.

SK Telecom T1 roster-

Top Lane- Duke

Jungle- Bengi, Bang

Mid Lane- Faker

AD Carry- Bang

Support- Wolf

Season 7

Season 7 introduced a new play in phase to the World championship. 24 team were invited to the tournament with a prize pool of $ 4,946,970 USD. Play in phase allowed more teams to qualify for Worlds. It also included several new regions.

Samsung Galaxy after failing in 2016 took the championship from SKT T1. They went 4-2 in groups dropping both the game to RNG. They defeated Longzhu Gaming 3-0 in the quarterfinals who were the pre-tournament favourites.

A 3-1 win against World Elite in the Semifinals allowed them to qualify for finals second time in a row. In a rematch from 2016 Worlds final Samsung Galaxy faced SKT T1 but this time they came victorious winning 3-0. Samsung Galaxy ended the SKT T1 reign after many years of domination by SKT T1 in the league scene.

Samsung Galaxy Roster-

Top lane- CuVee

Jungle- Haru, Ambition

Mid Lane- Crown

AD Carry- Ruler

Support- CoreJJ