Worlds 2021: Two-sentence summaries for Group Stage — Day 3

The West is in shambles as LCK, LPL and PCS teams celebrate momentous victories across the board. As the LPL teams hold a 10W-2L overall record, and the LCK trails them at 8W-4L, the LEC and LCS have combined for a horrendous 4-14 note.

And there was a level difference, as today’s games attested.

Explaining the ratings

• 0 / 5: a blunder-filled affair, worthy of the infamous Dignitas vs. Renegades 2016 regular season game. Anything lower is unbefitting of a Worlds-level game.
• 1 / 5: a blunder-filled affair, but one that makes a slight bit of sense as both teams have played to an otherwise passable level.
• 2 / 5: a forgettable or lopsided game on one end, without anything redeeming from the other team. Either that, or a contested game filled with macro errors.
• 3 / 5: a competitive game, but some mistakes have ensued on both sides.
• 4 / 5: a high-quality game with few mistakes deciding the outcome.
• 5 / 5: a game that should be immortalized forever, as is the SK Telecom T1 vs. ROX Tigers series.

Must-watch game

Royal Never Give Up (W) vs. Hanwha Life Esports: 4 / 5 — Best game of Worlds so far

RNG and HLE showed up to play, and they threw everything at one another to make it work. In a game featuring many skirmishes, flanks, and macro moves, RNG eventually prevailed—but what a game that was!

Contested games worth watching by anyone

MAD Lions vs. (W) LNG Esports: 3 / 5

MAD Lions could have had this game, but LNG Esports exploited their lackluster teamfight setups. As MAD’s teamfight composition was more difficult to execute, LNG Esports tore them apart and prevailed.

PSG Esports (W) vs. Fnatic: 3 / 5

A somewhat sloppy game from start to finish on both sides allowed PSG’s jungler, River, to illustrate why he should never be allowed to pick Lee Sin. Indeed, his flanks and engages single-handedly decided the outcome: a momentous PSG victory.

EDward Gaming (W) vs. DetonatioN FocusMe: 3 / 5

DetonatioN FocusMe’s early-game packed quite a punch, but EDward Gaming weren’t knocked out. Instead, EDG farmed to relevance and fended off DFM in teamfights.

Games to watch for fans of the winning teams

Gen.G (W) vs. Team Liquid: 2.75 / 5

Gen.G attempted to throw the game as hard as they could, in a towerdive, but they had already done untold damage to Team Liquid by then. Even then, Team Liquid nearly made them pay for it.

FunPlus Phoenix (W) vs. Rogue : 2.5 / 5

FPX demonstrated that their drafting has finally caught up to 2021 Worlds standards and promptly rolled over Rogue. Yet, despite suffering a crushing defeat, Rogue made a show of resistance and forced FPX to earn it through teamfights.

Cloud9 vs. (W) DWG KIA: 2.5 / 5

To Cloud9’s credit, it took a peak form DWG KIA to annihilate them—but they still attempted to come back from their gold deficits. Overall, a solid effort that could have paid off had their opponents not been DWG KIA.

100 Thieves vs. (W) T1: 2.25 / 5

T1 one-sidedly crushed 100 Thieves from start to finish, but Closer somehow stole Baron Nashor to prolong the game for a bit. Blame T1 for dropping the ball and allowing a game to extend for longer than it should have.