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Perhaps one of the rarest occurrences in professional League of Legends play, the 6 LCS and LEC teams displayed their prowess against the Chinese teams in the second half of Group play and beat them every match. Though Cloud9 was the only team from the LCS to advance to the Quarterfinals by beating out FunPlus Phoenix, 100 Thieves put down EDG in a final game of pride, and Team Liquid toppled LNG Esports for a chance to move on through a tie-breaker round.
Across the Atlantic, the European teams also showed up to play, sending MAD Lions to a tie-breaker game against Gen.G for the first/second spot in Group D. The world stood by in shock as all of the LPL teams took a beating from their American and European counterparts, one of the few times in League of Legends history that the west has shown such a record against Chinese teams.
LPL teams fall to the LCS and LEC in the League of Legends 2021 Worlds
During Week 1 of the Group play in the League of Legends Worlds tournament, all 3 of the LCS teams were sent back with a loss against the LPL teams. Cloud9 couldn't upset FunPlus Phoenix, 100 Thieves couldn't survive Edward Gaming's onslaught, and Team Liquid allowed LNG to roll over them.
Then, the LEC teams couldn't handle the LPL either, with MAD Lions falling to LNG, Rogue losing to FunPlus Phoenix, and Fnatic being dismantled by Royal Never Give Up. After a winless start against the teams from China, the American and European teams turned around to reverse sweep the LPL.
C9 and MAD Lions are the only teams from the either region to represent the LCS and LEC, respectively, while Korea and China take the other six slots in the quarterfinals. Many players predicted the LCK and LPL to take all eight positions moving out of Groups possibly. Still, a widespread victorious march for the LCS and LEC ensured that at least one team from other regions moved forward.
Cloud9 and MAD Lions will need to further this pattern as they progress to the final eight teams for a chance at glory and the League of Legends 2021 Worlds title. For some reason, the LPL teams fell apart in Week 2. In their tie-breaker game, LNG dropped the ball against MAD Lions, and FPX couldn't rally against Rogue to beat out C9 in the next League of Legends match. EDG and RNG still move on, and they'll remember the Western teams' statements in the second leg of the Group stage.
