League of Legends Worlds 2020: Play-in groups Day 1 recap

It’s that time of the year again when Riot Games hosts the League of Legends worlds championships. Esports enthusiasts worldwide have been looking forward to this moment, and the League of Legends Worlds 2020 is finally here.

The play-in stages of the League of Legends Worlds 2020 began yesterday, and as expected, the teams are giving their all to secure a place in the Worlds’ group stages. This will provide them with a shot at winning the world’s most-watched and most-prestigious esports tournament.

Here is a look at all the matches concluded on Day 1 of the Play-in stages of the League of Legends Worlds 2020.

Match analysis and results from Day 1 of League of Legends Worlds 2020 play-ins

Match #1- MAD Lions vs INTZ

MAD Lions' draft favored them in the opening game of the League of Legends Worlds 2020 play-ins. Even though the match was close, MAD Lions came out with some strong, synergized team-fights, turning the tide in the mid-game.

Despite the great team-fights, INTZ top-laner 'Tay' on his Urgot (9/2/3) showcased some courage and won fights single-handedly for his team, forcing MAD Lions to retreat on multiple occasions.

This, despite Tay missing a kill opportunity at the start of the game, fat-fingering and Teleporting to his Control ward. The giveaway may have been the start that INTZ was looking for in this League of Legends Worlds 2020 play-ins match, and one that potentially won them the game.

Result: MAD Lions won 18-14

Match #2- PSG vs R7

PSG demolished R7 right from the very start of this League of Legends Worlds 2020 play-ins match. The bot-lane was heavily focused in the initial stages, as PSG showed some calculated plays to counter the aggression of R7. They punished their early aggression, claiming an early lead over R7.

In almost every team fight, Ekko played by mid-laner Kongyue (13/1/8) placed some well-timed stuns to get some easy kills on the enemy team, destroying them with his increasing damage. Later, it was just a lost cause for R7, and they had to desperately look for kills at the cost of acing their team.

Result: PSG won 27-8 to R7

Match #3- LGC vs INTZ

LGC and INTZ both stated their intentions when starting this League of Legends Worlds 2020 play-ins match. LGC was looking for some early kills in, whereas INTZ wanted to secure the dragon soul. Even though the latter looked to have sharp control over its objectives, the team also got some trade-off kills when LGC tried to gain a lead over them.

Slowly, INTZ got the Mountain Soul and looked very strong during team fights. However, in one of these, Tally's Sett soaked insane amount of damage, allowing Babip's Nidalee (9/2/5) to win the team fight against unfavorable odds. After that, the momentum helped LGC win the match.

Result: LGC won 17-17 to INTZ

Match #4- LDG vs PSG

Another classic victory for PSG over LDG, as and the team dominated from the start of this League of Legends Worlds 2020 play-ins match. The team baited objectives and put the enemy in less-advantageous positions, slowly developing its lead in the game.

After that, every team fight was cleverly executed, and there wasn't a single moment where LDG shadowed them in this League of Legends Worlds 2020 play-ins match. PSG acquired the ocean soul in the game.

PSG vs LGD has set a Worlds play-in record with 1.02 Million peak concurrent viewers. League of Legends esports gets over 1 million viewers for its PLAY IN GAMES (source: EsportsCharts)
— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) September 25, 2020

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PSG Mid-laner Uniboy (7/0/7) played some extraordinary Orianna in the game and had a considerable role in the team fights. In one of them, he synergized with the Ornn knock-up to get comfortable kills in the match. PSG became the only team to have won two matches on the first day of the League of Legends Worlds 2020 play-ins.

Result: PSG won 16-2 to LDG

Match #5- TL vs MAD Lions

Team Liquid was supposedly the favorites coming into the League of Legends Worlds 2020 play-ins, and for the right reasons. The side's team-fights were on point, and some clever executions all over the match kept it in the game, even when MAD Lions was looking for kills.

However, some solo performances by TL Top-Laner Impact going (9/1/5) on the Mordekaiser. The spotlight was taken by TL ADC Tactical making aggressive plays with his Twitch and making team-fights way easier for TL.

He made some outstanding plays in which he showcased his fearlessness in the match and was handsomely rewarded for that in this League of Legends Worlds 2020 play-ins match.