FunPlus Phoenix are the LoL Worlds champions

The League of Legends World Championship 2019 Final has come to an exciting end after only three games. In the matchup between G2 Esports and FunPlus Phoenix, the Chinese team ended Europe’s hopes of taking the trophy home this year.

FPX defeated G2 3-0 in a spectacular display and fierce series in the best of five. Even their home advantage wasn’t enough to tip victory in G2’s favor at the AccorHotels Arena. 

During game one, FPX got first blood, the first Dragon, and first Baron. Full of a lot of back and forth, the game could have gone either way, but after over 40 minutes of play, FPX secured the win. Although a long game, FPX’s win was a bit easier than expected.

Game two was a quick affair, lasting less than 26 minutes. An early lead by Lin "Lwx" Wei-Xiang and the timely use of Ryze and Kled’s ultimate abilities led to a vast 7,900 gold lead for FPX, 22 minutes into the game. At this point, there was very little G2 could do, especially since FPX was winning every team fight. The game was momentarily paused due to reported lag, but it didn’t do G2 any favors, making this an easy win FPX.

During game three, G2 took first blood, giving fans hope early on that they were about to make a big comeback, but that wasn’t so. They needed a full sweep from this game on to win the Finals, but FPX denied them at every turn. Spanning 30 minutes, this was G2’s best game, but their efforts were a little too late to make a difference to the overall outcome of the Finals. FPX, with their speed and efficiency, secured their third win and the trophy.

Both finalists had a strong showing throughout the event, especially in the Playoffs. G2 had a better record in the Group Stage with five wins and one loss in Group A while FunPlus Phoenix finished Group B with four wins and two losses. In the Quarterfinals and Semifinals, they both secured 3-1 victories against DAMWON, Fnatic, Invictus Gaming, and SK Telecom T1.

Gao "Tian" Tian-Liang was crowned the League of Legends World Championship Finals MVP for his superb play. His team and G2 weren't the favorites for the tournament at the start, but they were able to dominate their way to the Finals, and it is this unpredictability that makes Worlds 2019 one to remember.