In this article, we will talk about the teams that have confirmed a trip to China for Worlds 2021 and speculate who can make it.
Playoffs are ongoing for the leagues around the worlds as teams are fighting for a chance to make it to Worlds. We will be talking about the teams that have confirmed a spot there and speculate which other teams could make it. That said, let’s jump into it starting with the major regions.
Teams Going To Worlds 2021
Across most of the major regions, 3 of them have confirmed most of their participants while the seeding is still not fixed. Let’s talk about the one that hasn’t confirmed any participants thus far.
LPL
The LPL has been one of the most competitive leagues for the past 2-3 years, and it always delivers with excitement. With their new playoffs bracket, it has delivered with a lot of upsets and surprises. That is to be expected regarding the LPL. None of the teams have really confirmed qualifications yet, so there are many teams still up for contention.
The team that is almost confirmed for Worlds is FunPlus Phoenix. They have had a stellar Summer Split and are a deadly team with multiple Worlds champions on the roster. They are one series win away from confirming Worlds, so we expect that to happen. Based on how the other results go, we could see any 3 of the other five teams who are Team WE, LNG Esports, EDward Gaming, Royal Never Give Up, and Rare Atom. The stakes are always high in the LPL, and we will know in a week or two who make it from the LPL.
LCK
LCK has confirmed 3 teams to Worlds already with another pending to qualify from Regional Qualifiers. We will be seeing World Champions DAMWON KIA (DK) back to the stage along with Gen.G and the return of T1 at Worlds. Seeding wise, DK is locked for one of the top 2 seeds. They will be the 2nd seed at worst. T1 has a bit of an uphill battle given they could be 4th seed at worst but 1st seed at best. That hinges on whether they can beat DK in the Summer Finals.
If they can, T1 will lock in 1st seed. However, if they cannot, they will confirm Worlds but will have to win one series in the regional qualifiers to be the 3rd seed and avoid play-ins. Gen.G’s seeding is also predicated on how T1 fares in the finals. If T1 wins, Gen.G will be at Worlds but will have to play one regional qualifier series to determine whether they are 3rd or 4th seed. If T1 loses, Gen.G is going to be the 2nd seed.
So to briefly recap, the teams that have confirmed Worlds spots are:
- DAMWON KIA (They will be first or second seed, depending on Summer Finals Result)
- Gen.G (They will be 2nd seed if DK wins Finals but 3rd/4th seed if DK does not)
- T1 (Must win Finals to get 1st seed. If they lose, they are 3rd/4th seed based on Regional Qualifier result.
For the 3rd/4th seed, there are 3 other teams in contention. One of these three teams, Hanwha Life Esports, Nongshim RedForce, and Liiv SANDBOX will get one of those spots for Worlds. They will be qualifying through the regionals and then will face either of Gen.G or T1 in the finals of that tournament.
LEC
All the 3 teams of LEC have been confirmed yesterday. LEC is sending MAD Lions, Rogue, and Fnatic to the Worlds stage. It is a travesty that G2 did not make it, but that is another topic for another article. Nevertheless, the LEC has been an entertaining league to watch this split. For seeding, MAD is confirmed a top 2 seed as they are in the finals. Rogue and Fnatic must battle against one another to gain the other top 2 spot. This time around, the 3rd team in the LEC will be in the play-ins. All the teams have the possibility to be the first seed at Worlds. Briefly outlining the positions the teams can get are:
- MAD Lions (1st or 2nd seed)
- Rogue (1st, 2nd or 3rd seed)
- Fnatic (1st, 2nd or 3rd seed)
Rogue vs Fnatic will narrow down the seeding and that should be a fun series to watch.
LCS
LCS has been an interesting system this year with rebranding and system changes and all. With all of that said, it has been competitive in that region. Similar to the LEC, they have confirmed 3 teams for Worlds, but seeding is up in the air. Team Liquid is confirmed a top 2 seed while Cloud 9 and 100 Thieves are going to get the other two spots. Whoever wins the Finals gets first seed. So to recap it briefly:
- Team Liquid (1st/2nd seed)
- 100 Thieves (1st/2nd/3rd seed)
- Cloud 9 (1st/2nd/3rd seed)
100 Thieves and Cloud 9 will determine a lot of the seeding for the LCS and build up to the Summer Finals.
Other Leagues
The rest of the regions are also battling the playoffs to get a spot. Sadly, we do not know how many teams that will get a spot for Worlds from the minor regions for this year. However, we will be following the previous system to determine who might make it to Worlds.
VCS
Starting with the VCS, they are in a limbo at the moment. Their Summer Split did not kick off and is currently rumored to be cancelled. This puts their Worlds qualifications in jeopardy as we get closes to the event. We are hopeful that something will be worked out soon so that VCS does not miss another major tournament.
PCS
PCS playoffs are currently underway, but the spots for Worlds are down to 3 teams. Last year, PCS received 2 spots for Worlds, and we do not expect that to change. The 2 spots are down to PSG Talon, J Team, and Beyond Gaming to get them. PSG Talon has the easiest road and given they have not lost a single match in the PCS, we should expect them to be back at Worlds. We should know in a week or two who makes it to Worlds.
LCL
With CIS region disappointing at MSI 2021, they are fighting for a spot at Worlds to prove that MSI was just an aberration. The spot is down to MSI 2021 Representatives Unicorns of Love vs CrowCrowd. The teams faced each other earlier in the playoffs and CC beat UOL. Now, they face each other in the finals and that will determine who makes it to Worlds.
CBLOL
CBLOL will be getting a new representative to Worlds as pAIN Gaming lost in the playoffs. The spot is going to go to either of Rensga Esports or RED Canids. Both teams have made the full run through the playoffs bracket and now face each other in the finals. It should be a fun series to watch, and we will see a new team from the CBLOL at Worlds.
TCL
Similar to CBLOL, TCL will also be getting a new representative. MSI 2021 participant Istanbul Wildcats failed to qualify for playoffs. Now, the spot for Worlds will go to either Galatasaray Esports or NASR eSports Turkey as they face each other in the finals.
LLA
For LLA, Infinity Esports is set to make a return to the international stage this year. After their performance at MSI, they will want to prove they are better than how they performed. They are set to face Estral Esports for the spot at Worlds and every LLA fan should watch that series.
LJL
LJL playoffs are ongoing with many of their playoffs still have a bunch of series to be played out. Rascal Jester is sitting at the Finals after beating MSI Representatives, Detonation FocusMe. Meanwhile, AXIZ and V3 Esports will face off each other to face DFM in Round 3 to determine who faces RJ in the finals. The LJL is heating up and is an interesting league to watch.
LCO
Lastly, we have the LCO which is set to be the last region to send a team to Worlds. MSI Representatives Pentanet.GG is in the finals awaiting their opponent after they 3-0’d Dire Wolves. ORDER and PEACE are set to face of each other in Round 2 and then face Dire Wolves to determine who meets PGG in the finals. The LCO surprised people with their performance at MSI despite being in a shortened group due to VCS missing out. However, people should not count LCO out if they can show up in the international stage once again.
In Conclusion
With all the playoffs reaching its end, we will be confirming the teams that make to worlds within the next 2 weeks. So, it should be a fun number of days to see which teams confirm Worlds while the confirmed teams fight for the higher seed for the major regions.
For more about the playoffs for all the regions, visit LoLEsport.com for more info.
