The past weekend fans around the world got to witness two excellent semi-finals. The semi-finals took place at the Palacio Vistalegre in Madrid, Spain. We had an all Chinese clash and Korea’s best face off against Europe’s best, all hoping to secure a spot in next week’s grand final. The grand final will take place in Paris, France at the AccorHotels Arena.
Semi-Final #1 – Invictus Gaming vs. FunPlus Phoenix
This was the hyped up all Chinese clash between the best teams the region has to offer. Invictus Gaming won the World Championship in 2018 and FPX had been dominate on home soil throughout the 2019 regular season.
The winner of the game was well and truly up in the air. With both teams being explosive and filled with raw mechanical talent, the series swayed back and forth. We got to watch some interesting draft picks and unique playstyles.
The series finished 3-1 in FunPlus Phoenix’s favour, but every game was closely contested, and it was truly a great battle. Game 2 was probably the most exciting of them all which tied up the series at 1-1 and had a total of 59 kills. FPX advance to represent China in the grand final.
Semi-Final #2 – G2 Esports vs. SK Telecom T1
This match had a serious amount of hype behind it and it didn’t disappoint. It is being argued as possibly the greatest International semi-final in League of Legends history. I personally think it would have taken that title if it went to the 5th game.
G2 have been Europe’s hopeful all year long and had the weight of the region on the shoulders for this matchup. Meanwhile, SKT were hoping to redeem themselves for the disappointment of not making it to Worlds last year. SKT’s famous mid-laner, Faker, was determined to get himself back to his former glory.
Everything about this series was excellent, the drafts, the gameplay and for Europe, the result. Things were tied up at 1-1 and G2 managed to pull off some great games to secure the series 3-1 and advance to the grand final.
The Grand Final
We have a repeat of last year, China vs. Europe in the grand final, but this time around we have two new teams. The match between FunPlus Phoenix and G2 Esports will take place on Sunday 11th November at 12:00 BST.
