The 2019 League of Legends World Championship group stage continues as Group C finds its two play-off teams. As expected, Korean powerhouse SK Telecom T1 has topped the group, losing only one match. The LEC’s Fnatic clinched the second spot, which was closely contested until the final game. To much surprise, Chinese squad Royal Never Give Up will not be advancing to the quarter-finals.
SK Telecom T1 ended the first round robin undefeated, taking crushing victories over Fnatic, Royal Never Give Up, and Clutch Gaming. Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok put up a classic performance to power the Korean squad to the top of the group standings. As the second round robin began, SKT secured their fourth straight victory with a win over RNG. Now standing 4-0, they next took on Fnatic to continue the streak. The European squad stunned as they took a 21-7 kill lead, and ended SKT’s undefeated record after twenty-seven minutes. The LCK champions then faced off against Clutch Gaming, saving their top spot with a victory over the North Americans. SK Telecom T1 ended their group stage run with a 5-1 record, and the first seed going into the quarter-finals.
Fnatic entered Group C with a mountain in front of them as they stood against SK Telecom T1 and Royal Never Give Up. The LEC runners-up kicked off their Worlds run with an immediate loss to SKT. They followed up with a win over Clutch Gaming before suffering another defeat at the hands of RNG. Fnatic's second round robin began with a match against Clutch, with the Europeans finally securing the win after nearly 50 minutes. They followed that win with another, this time over tournament favorites SK Telecom T1.
The final match of the day pit Fnatic against Royal Never Give Up, both standing with a record of three wins, two losses. The winner would advance to the play-offs, while the loser would be eliminated. Fnatic took the Rift by storm, crushing RNG in just over thirty minutes. With that victory, the EU squad locked in their quarter-final spot.
The League of Legends 2019 World Championship group stage has only one day remaining, where the final two play-off teams will be decided. The knock-out stage will begin on October 26th in Madrid, Spain.