SKT, G2, Splyce, Damwon will meet in 2019 LoL Worlds Knockouts

The 2019 League of Legends World Championship reaches its thrilling quarterfinal stage this Sunday, featuring two compelling best-of-five series that showcase contrasting competitive dynamics. The legendary SK Telecom T1, holders of three world championship titles, confront European challengers Splyce, while Mid-Season Invitational victors G2 Esports battle emerging Korean powerhouse Damwon Gaming in what promises to be an explosive showdown.

The Knockout Stage employs a single-elimination format where teams compete in best-of-five matches on October 26-27. These decisive battles unfold live from Palacio Vistalegre in Madrid, Spain, marking a critical juncture in the tournament where championship aspirations either advance or end abruptly.

SK Telecom T1 vs Splyce

SKT makes its triumphant return to championship form following a disappointing 2018 season that saw the organization miss Worlds entirely. Now revitalized and strategically refined, the Korean juggernaut stands poised to capture its unprecedented fourth world championship title. Their initial knockout stage adversary emerges as Splyce, the third-seeded representative from Europe’s LEC region, who navigated a relatively smooth path through the earlier tournament phases.

Splyce’s Worlds campaign has progressed steadily though without generating significant attention. During the play-in stage, the European squad encountered minimal resistance until facing Unicorns of Love in the best-of-five qualification round, where they narrowly avoided elimination in a tense series that exposed strategic vulnerabilities.

Advancing to the main event, Splyce demonstrated respectable form by dropping merely two games during group stage competition. While their performance indicates solid team cohesion, it falls considerably short of the championship-caliber execution required to challenge SKT’s dominance. The LCK champions have appeared virtually unstoppable throughout the tournament, with their only blemish being an unexpected defeat against Fnatic during Group C’s final day that revealed potential exploitable weaknesses.

Splyce possesses a narrow window of opportunity to catch SKT unprepared and potentially secure a single game victory. Believing the European team could achieve more substantial success against the Korean titans represents unrealistic expectations given the substantial gap in individual skill and strategic sophistication. The SKT roster features superior mechanical talent across every position and demonstrates more advanced macro-game understanding, particularly in objective control and late-game decision-making.

This matchup should conclude as a relatively straightforward series with SKT emerging victorious. The probability of a monumental upset remains minimal yet theoretically possible. For Splyce to defy expectations, they must execute draft strategies with flawless precision while effectively neutralizing both mid lane legend Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok and aggressive jungler Kim “Clid” Tae-min. Additionally, they would need to consistently outmaneuver SKT in side lane assignments and prevent the Korean team from establishing early lane dominance. Should Splyce accomplish this improbable feat, it would instantly become legendary as the most shocking upset in competitive League of Legends history.

Damwon Gaming vs G2 Esports

The confrontation between Damwon Gaming and G2 Esports presents a much tighter competitive dynamic than initially anticipated, featuring contrasting regional approaches to the game.

Damwon achieved their quarterfinal position after beginning their tournament journey in the play-in stage. The organization successfully overcame initial performance anxiety and demonstrates increasing comfort and coordination with each successive match. Damwon exhibits impressive adaptability and learning capacity, quickly identifying and correcting strategic errors. They developed effective countermeasures against early lane swap strategies and prevented Team Liquid from replicating the successful tactics that Lowkey Esports employed earlier in the competition.

Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon and Heo “ShowMaker” Su are establishing themselves as emerging international stars throughout this tournament. Nuguri faced criticism for unconventional rune selections and excessively aggressive play patterns, but the talented top laner silenced detractors with exceptional performances against elite opponents like Invictus Gaming. Kang “TheShy” Seung-lok publicly acknowledged that despite their unorthodox nature, Nuguri’s innovative approaches deliver consistent effectiveness.

Opposing them stands G2 Esports, who entered Worlds as the consensus favorite to claim the championship. The competitive community and analytical experts maintained elevated expectations for G2, anticipating this explosive and creatively unpredictable team would dominate the tournament. Thus far they’ve displayed strong form, but a strategic misstep against Griffin generated legitimate concerns about the LEC champion’s championship readiness.

Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski functions as the strategic core of G2, yet currently the veteran jungler struggles to maintain the exceptional performance level he demonstrated during domestic competition. This performance dip cannot be attributed to nervousness, as Jankos brings extensive experience with multiple international tournament appearances. Certain elements within G2’s team coordination aren’t synchronizing optimally, and the organization has been transparent about their particular difficulties in scrimmage matches against Damwon.

This series will ultimately be determined by jungle influence and solo lane differentials. If Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu continues serving as the driving force behind Damwon’s success, the rookie LCK representative will likely secure victory on Sunday. G2 remains very much in championship contention, but must capitalize on their distinctive strengths while avoiding excessively unconventional draft selections. Employing unexpected strategies proved successful throughout European competition, but Korean teams have demonstrated remarkable capacity for rapid adaptation and opponent pattern recognition.

For optimal viewing experience, focus on these critical strategic elements: SKT’s objective control patterns versus Splyce’s team fighting coordination; Damwon’s early game aggression against G2’s mid-game rotational plays. Monitor how each team approaches draft phase strategy—particularly whether G2 maintains their characteristic creative picks or adopts more conventional approaches against Damwon’s methodical style.

Key individual matchups to scrutinize include Faker versus Humanoid in the mid lane, where wave management and roaming timing create early advantages. The jungle confrontation between Jankos and Canyon will likely determine map control and early game tempo. Watch for Nuguri’s lane dominance attempts against Wunder and whether G2 can effectively contain Damwon’s top-side pressure.

The most significant game-changing factors involve draft phase outcomes, early jungle pathing efficiency, and which team establishes superior vision control around major objectives.

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