Group C brought its drama in the form of another tiebreaker, this time to determine the first-place finisher.
We're towards the end of the Worlds 2021 Group Stage as Group C draws to a close after a tantalising tiebreaker between Hanwha Life Esports and Royal Never Give Up. As the dust settled, it was HLE/RNG who came out on top in a nerve-wracking match to determine first place.
Sadly, it's also the part where we bid goodbye to both PSG Talon and Fnatic. Both teams put up a good fight but alas, it was not enough to displace HLE or RNG, who have shown that the LPL and the LCK are miles ahead of the competition.
Hanwha Life Esports makes history for themselves
After finishing as the LCK's fourth seed heading into Worlds, not many expected HLE to go the distance. With all eyes on the team's star mid-laner Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon, it was up to him and his teammates to write their history and they did just that.
They dropped two out of their first three games, leaving them in third place before today. However, HLE came into the day with a different mindset, showing the world just what they're capable of. They went on to win all three of their remaining games with the last match against RNG setting up the tiebreaker for first place.
But that is where their luck ran out as they lost out to RNG in the replay, which meant that they ended up back in second place. However, this is the team's first time at the World Championship and are already in the knockout stage.
Can the LPL bring glory to the region once more?
With RNG officially finishing as the group leader, this means that there are now two LPL teams in the next phase. While many expected there to be three by now, we all know what happened in Group A. With that said, all hope now falls on LNG Esports to make the region proud by having three teams representing the LPL in the knockout stage.
The MSI 2021 winners have looked sluggish all day, dropping two matches and only picking up one win. Thankfully, they managed to pick themselves back up and secured the win against HLE to ensure that they finish Group C in first place whilst averaging two wins and two losses on the day; not too bad with all things considered.
Fnatic falters in the end
What a tough run it has been for Fnatic. The team came into Worlds 2021 this year with renewed ambition. Being the LEC's second seed, many of the region's hopes fall on their shoulders. Unfortunately, things didn't quite pan out for them after losing Elias "Upset" Lipp. This meant the team had to play with a substitute in the form of Bean.
While the team's performances as a whole weren't horrible, there weren't many positives to take away from it either. Things did look like they were taking a turn for the better when they handed RNG their first loss of the tournament. Sadly, they couldn't capitalise on their momentum, losing against HLE and PSG T soon after.
The best for last
Tomorrow will be the final day of the group stage one that many are looking forward to. Both Gen.G Esports and LNG Esports are currently neck-to-neck for first place while MAD Lions and Team Liquid are also tied for third. Tomorrow's round of matches for Group D should be an enticing affair to determine the final two teams that will round up the knockout stage.
