Today, the group stage of League of Legends Worlds 2019 starts. Now the favorites join the world championships. Before the start, teams, fans, and the developers at Riot themselves are building up the hype. Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok holds a special place in this. Images of him crying are being used to fuel anticipation for the Worlds.
What’s happening in Berlin today? Today, October 12, the World Championships of League of Legends officially begin. Actually, matches have been taking place for 10 days already. But that was just about filtering out 8 “smaller teams”.
The Play-Ins went according to plan: the 4 favorites, who are the third-placed teams from the major regions USA, Europe, China, and Korea have prevailed – the 8 teams from smaller regions have been knocked out. Today, the “strong teams” are joining.
LoL Worlds are staged
What is the staging like? In the run-up to the LoL Worlds, there are trailers from fans, teams, and Riot themselves, who wanted to weave a “narrative” around the LoL Worlds.
At the center of these stagings is usually the player Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok. The legendary mid-laner of SKT1.
Faker and the fall of the champion
This is Faker’s situation at the Worlds 2: Faker is a “comeback” story. A fallen champion wants to prove himself once again.
For Faker has returned with his team after a legendary defeat. The fan trailer “He’s back” tells the story of the pampered Faker and the fall of the champion.
This is Faker’s history at the Worlds:
- Faker was a world champion 3 times – in 2013, 2015, and 2016.
- But in 2017, the favored team, SKT1, with Faker lost in the finals against Samsung Galaxy
- In 2018, SKT1 even missed the qualification for the Worlds.
- In 2019 they are back.
The decisive image in the fan trailer is Faker, who buries his face in his hands and cries after the defeat.
This is how SKT1 stages the narrative: The team of Faker, SKT1, also released a Twitter trailer for the Worlds. This trailer also starts with the crying Faker.
The message from SKT1 is: “We had a revolution, we are new, it’s happening.”
Riot focuses on Berlin and 4 top stars – including Faker
This is how Riot stages the Worlds: Today, a trailer from Riot was released, focusing on 4 players from the top teams and the city itself.
Alongside Faker, Rookie from Invictus Gaming, Rekkles from Fnatic, and Caps from G2 Esports make an appearance. This feels more balanced with a strong focus on Europe.
Here, Faker is not crying for once, but confidently states: “When you look at the story of the World Championship, it is only OUR team that truly belongs on the throne.”
When does it start? Right now, the first games are beginning. SKT1 will open the group stage against Fnatic.
We will accompany the LoL Worlds on MeinMMO.
