The Eight Superstars to Watch for in Play-ins

The League of Legends 2019 World Championship has been well underway throughout the month of October.

As the teams now approach the Knockout Stage of Worlds, the tournament has seen 8 high-caliber players standout above the rest. Where and how these players stand at the end of the tournament is still in heavy speculation.

One thing is for certain, these below players are sure to have their turns in the spotlight of the series.

‎Heo “ShowMaker” Su

ShowMaker is a carry player through and through. Whether it be on Akali or Kayle, he’s shown he can beat the best—he was the deciding factor in both of Damwon Gaming’s matches against Invictus Gaming.

His team is filled with talent, but consistency causes him to stand out as one of the players who is always proactively affecting the game. Roams and outplays fill any game that he plays in, setting him as the strongest point of the Korean third seed’s roster.

If he can get an edge over G2 Esports’ mid, he can steal the series.

Luka “Perkz” Perković

The entire meta of League has been changed by the talent and ingenuity that Perkz has brought into the bottom lane.

He brought mages and assassins from the time he played as a middle laner and has shown that, with mastery, they are just as powerful as marksmen in the bot lane. Syndra has been brought to the forefront of the meta as a direct result of his play.

With G2 finally entering the bracket stage of the World Championship, new picks should come out. These new picks and Perkz’s strength make a bot lane strategy a likely victory.

Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang

Despite massive blunders by his team, Doinb has performed at a strong level. Only losing when he hasn’t been the focus of the draft speaks to the strength of FunPlux Phoenix. They have one of the most talented mid laners with a unique and diverse champion pool.

Nerves caused his team members to underperform, but he took the first seed in Group B with a tiebreaker by smashing the middle laner of Splyce.

Utility that he provides creates game states where he has the opportunities he needs to dominate. If he manages to land hits in their series, FunPlus should crush their opponents.

Tim “Nemesis” Lipovšek

Nemesis has only gotten better throughout the year. He is easily the strongest player on Fnatic; he was a consistent strength throughout the group stage and his off meta picks even gave him the upper hand against Faker.

Through the famously European 1-3-1 strategy Fnatic has been able to use his individual strength to gain advantages through the side lanes.

Additionally, his style matches his signature Twisted Fate pick. It allows him to play in the side lane while finding opportunities to flank the enemy team and finish a skirmish before the other team gets the chance to react.

Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok

Faker is the best player of all time, without question. The Unkillable Demon King has won three World Championships before and he’s back to take another. He has never dropped out of Worlds before the finals and he’s only lost once.

Beginning in 2013, victories brought by him has made SK Telecom T1 the dynasty that it is today. Before 2017 nobody thought he was beatable. While he hasn’t been on form the entirety of his career, he steps back up when he hits the international stage, like all great players.

With him in command, it will be hard for anyone to stop SKT.

Andrei ‘Xerxe’ Dragomir

Early game was a weakness for Splyce for years. The team was crushed when it was put up against Rogue because of their inability to deal with early aggression.

Xerxe changed that.

Since the World Championship started, he’s been securing kill after kill for his team in the early game. Nobody has managed to stand against his aggression, and it’s resulted in consistent leads for the team against every opponent they’ve faced.

Because of Xerxe’s play across the games, Splyce has always had the upper hand and he’ll look to do the same in the Bracket Stage.

Lee “Tarzan” Seung-yong

Everyone was expecting Tarzan to fall from his pedestal. It looked like Griffin was vulnerable and they would choke away their chance to make their fans proud. But then, he, and his team, returned to form.

Tarzan rose when Week 2 Groups started. There was nowhere on the map safe from him. At any point if there was an opening for the enemy jungler to strike, Tarzan was there.

He provided safety to all the disadvantaged points on the map while at the same time making plays happen. If he continues to look as well as he did, Griffin have a ticket punched for Finals.

Kang “TheShy” Seung-lok

TheShy has proven himself to be one of the best top laners in the world. He has returned to form at the international event after having a poor showing throughout the second half of the LPL.

While he was placed in a group with two other great top laners, he has taken advantages every single game

There isn’t a single player that has stood up to him, and he’ll be looking to make a statement in the remaining parts of Worlds. Invictus Gaming is looking to recreate last year with their second seed finish.

As Worlds enters its home stretch towards the title, the match-ups ensure that players will be fighting tooth and nail in order to solidify their spot on top. This should only make for a great tournament for fans around the world to watch.

Although it’s uncertain as to who will end up taking the title, it’s clear that any of these players stand a chance to take the top spot.

All matches will be streamed by Riot Games via Twitch.

Written by Jimmy Bellinghausen