The League of Legends World Championship kicks off September 29

The regional tournaments have ended, the Wildcard region representatives have emerged, and there are only a few weeks left until the beginning of the League of Legends World Championship. 

Sixteen teams from across the world will duke it out for glory and gold beginning September 29 across several US states. The winner of the tournament will not only get to hoist the coveted Summoner’s cup, but will also gain the $1,000,000 World Champion prize.

The tournament will begin at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California. This is where the Group Stages will be held.

Prior to the Group Stages the 16 teams have been sorted into 4 groups. Teams within the same group will battle each other twice, and the top two teams of the group will move on to the next round.

Here is the list of teams sorted into their own perspective groups and how they may fare during the Group Stages.

Group A:

• Rox Tigers (LCK)
• G2 Esports (EU LCS)
• Counter Logic Gaming (NA LCS)
• Albus Nox Luna (CIS)

Group A is a tricky group to predict, as it is occupied by powerhouse teams from across the world. The team that everyone will be watching out for though is Rox Tigers. While they have long established themselves to be a formidable group, they have only cemented their status this year, after they have defeated World superstars SKT Telecom 1 during the Summer Split in Korea.

Group B:

• Flash Wolves (LMS)
• SKT Telecom 1 (LCK)
• Team I May (LPL)
• Cloud 9 (NA LCS)

It’s always a nerve wracking situation to be looped into the same group as SKT Telecom 1. SKT has won the World Championship twice since the first season. In fact, they won the championship last year convincingly with solid team strategies and stellar individual performances. But while the first team to come out of Group B isn’t difficult to predict, the second team will be hard to pinpoint. Flash Wolves seem to be the stronger group however, as Cloud 9 struggled to get into Worlds this year after falling to TSM. Meanwhile, we have never seen Team I May in the Worlds stage before and they too had to struggle before getting in the competition.

Group C

• Edward Gaming (LPL)
• AHQ e-Sports Club (LMS)
• H2K Gaming (EU LCS)
• INTZ e-Sports (CBLoL)

Another team to be feared during the Group Stages is Edward Gaming. The Chinese powerhouse has long been known as one of the best teams in the world. They’ve bested SKT-T1 in an international tournament in the past, but somehow the World Championship cup have always slipped through their fingers. As for who will be joining them at the end of the Group Stages, H2K Gaming might just push through if AHQ and INTZ have nothing under their sleeves.

Group D
TSM (NA LCS)
RNG (LPL)
Samsung Galaxy (LCK)
Splyce (EU LCS)

Perhaps the hardest group to predict is Group D. All four teams have had good runs in their respective region. TSM had an incredible 17-1 run and is America’s favorite once more. RNG had a relatively solid season in China this year, and both Samsung Galaxy and Splyce are fresh rosters that fought their way to the top of their respective regions.

Who do you think is going to make it to the next stage of the World Championship?  – Rappler.com

Nadine has been a passionate gamer since she was a freshman in college. When she isn’t playing video games, watching her favorite YouTubers, or trying to share her gaming misadventures, Nadine is working on her photography and her travel plans. Her biggest gaming wish? To build her own gaming PC and to see the release of Devil May Cry 5.