2021 Worlds just got a whole lot more interesting with LNG Esports getting slotted into group D! We all expected this to happen, but one can never be too certain given the many twists and turns that tend to occur on the biggest stage in the world. Fortunately for LPL fans (of which there are many), LNG took no prisoners in their brief — and yet obscenely dominant — Play-Ins run.

A region as dominant and rich in talent as the LPL has always been a cut above the rest, but the ease with which LNG disposed of its opposition left no one indifferent. They made it look easy, as if it were child’s play, even though, in reality, they were facing off against some of the best and most capable teams in the world. And, frankly, that’s what you want to see from a team that had booked its flight to Reykjavik, Iceland by taking down Suning, Top Esports, and Royal Never Give Up — one after another.

No one’s surprised that LNG Esports reached the Group Stage at 2021 Worlds, but their utter dominance is somewhat staggering — they came into the whole thing swinging for the fences and had wasted no time in letting the world know they mean business. They wanted to send a message and, well, they certainly did. A message to whom, one might ask? To everyone, of course, but chiefly to their upcoming opponents in group D: MAD Lions (LEC), Gen.G (LCK), and Team Liquid (LCS).

Just writing that last sentence is enough for one’s mouth to start watering — we’re bound to witness a battle for the ages, and no one’s all too sure how it’s going to pan out and which two teams will end up with their hands raised.

Most folks think of MAD Lions as the biggest favorites to make it out of their group, and while such a hypothesis certainly makes sense, we know for a fact that there are no guarantees on the Worlds stage. We’ve seen too many crazy twists and mind-boggling upsets to entertain any foregone conclusions. Simply put, when you put so many exceptional teams under one roof and have them compete in a meta as flexible as this one, unexpected things are all but guaranteed to happen.

By the same token, no one’s all too sure how to feel about the second seed from Korea, Gen.G. We’re talking about a spectacular line-up, one that — on paper — has all the right tools to trade blows with the who’s who of competitive League, but also a team that has yet to leave its mark ever since the meta shifted from what the LCK giants of yore favored and excelled at. They’re not to be trifled with, of course, but Gen.G often struggled whenever they faced high-tempo opponents who push the pace like their lives depend on it. Will that be the case this year as well, or have they adapted, at least ever so slightly?

Then there’s Team Liquid. What does one even say about the former four-time LCS champions and a team that has so much potential? We know for a fact that they’re hungry for success and want to find a bit of redemption — not just for their past international failures but for their staggering inconsistency back on home soil as well. They have a lot to prove, but it feels like most people just don’t care that much any longer. That’s what happens when you fumble and fail for what feels like a million times despite being set up for success — indifference, therefore, is nothing but a natural by-product, and a wholly justified one, too.

Whether they’ll accomplish anything worthy of mentioning still remains to be seen, but with LNG looking this dangerous and capable, TL’s chances of leaving a mark are diminishing by the hour. In any case, they’ll have a shot at proving everyone wrong in just a few days!