League of Legends Worlds 2019: No LCS team to feature in quarter-finals for first time in four years

The group stage of League of Legends Worlds 2019 has ended, and all the teams played their hearts out. Teams like SK Telecom T1 and Griffin fulfilled the expectations, while old guards like Royal Never Give Up and Team Liquid fell short. All Legends Championship Series (LCS) teams have crashed out in the group stage, and this is the first time since 2015 that LCS has zero representatives in the knockout phase.

Number of teams from major regions in the quarter finals

Europe (LEC): 3

South Korea (LCK): 3

China (LPL): 2

North America (LCS): 0

Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau (LMS): 0

This has left many fans fuming and all three teams have received a lot of criticism. Many believe that this was the year for LCS redemption on the international stage. Despite the tough draws, fans had high hopes from the LCS representatives, especially Cloud 9 and Team Liquid. However, this was not the case, and fans didn’t shy away from showing their emotions over Twitter and Reddit. Cloud9 won just two games in their group while Clutch Gaming went winless. Team Liquid barely missed out on a quarterfinals spot after they lost to Invictus Gaming in deciding game.

It was clear during the tournament that LCS is a level below the other three major regions. However, to say that LCS doesn’t deserve a spot of a major region is an overstatement. Major regions can have up to three teams in world, while minor regions can only have two at max. Team Liquid reached the finals of mid season Invitational this year, and the team was one game away from qualifying for the knockout stage in the world. There is a skill disparity between LCS and other major regions, but with time the gap will surely reduce.

My point with all of this? Idk tbh, just interesting to me.I guess you can argue NA has the "toughest" world draws but its our fault & that doesn't change the fact EU has crushed NA at worlds.NA is closer to LMS than it is to EU. In reality there are 3 "major" regions. 6/6

— Mark Zimmerman (@TheeMarkZ) October 21, 2019

This is not the first year that LCS has failed to mark a mark on the international stage. In fact, since the inception of League of Legends Worlds in 2011, no LCS team has ever won the tournament. The last time all three LCS teams qualified for the knockout stage was back in 2014. Fans often label LCS teams as 'Chokers', and this perception won’t change until any LCS team makes it big in Worlds.

Stick with Sportskeeda for the latest Esports updates.