07
February
news
The Best League of Legends Teams
What is League of Legends?
In 2009, the face of online gaming changed forever. Riot Games, inspired by Defence of The Ancients (DOTA), wanted to create a game that stood on its own, carrying the genre. Thus, the League of Legends was born.
The game is played by 10 players. They are in teams of 5 and are in PvP combat. Each team has their half of a map on which the game takes place, which they must defend. Each player is in control of a ‘champion.’ A team wins by infiltrating the enemy’s base and destroying the ‘nexus’ of the enemy team.
Known as a ‘Multiplayer Online Battle Arena’ video game, League of Legends took the gaming world by storm very soon. It is now one of the most popular games on the face of the planet. In 2020, it was revealed that there were around 115 million users who played League of Legends.
League of Legends World Championship
It’s no big surprise, then, that with such a massive fan base all over the world, competition is extremely tough. To find out who the very best teams in the world were, in 2011, the League of Legends World Championship was founded.
Over the years, the competition grew in popularity. A large number of people actually began to watch the event live. This culminated in 2018 when 99.6 million people watched the final live. The number reached 100 million in 2020.
Thanks to its massive popularity, it was even added to the Asian Games 2022 as an event that would merit medals.
Over the years, there have been some truly fantastic teams that have competed and won the League of Legends World Championship. Let’s take a look at the 5 best League of Legends Teams:
1. T1
Country of Origin: South Korea
T1 has participated in many League of Legends tournaments and championships across the world, gaining a huge name for themselves. They were previously named SK Telecom T1 and SKT T1. Their star player, Faker, is known as one of the very best to have played the game of League of Legends.
T1 is the team with the most number of League of Legends titles. The highly skilled team from South Korea took home the trophy in 2013, 2015, and 2016. No other team has year reached 3 World titles.
This year, T1 has given a major facelift to their team. There are many new faces who may not be recognized right now, but don't bet against them rising to the very top soon. Although they may have new faces, they still have the masterful Faker among their ranks.
They did not make it to the World Championship in 2020, but with Faker leading a young, talented team, don’t expect them to miss out for much longer.
2. Team SoloMid
Country of Origin: United States of America
They are a team of North American origin that represents the USA. They hold a distinct record in that they are the only team that made it to the first 10 League of Legends Championships of North America while also qualifying for the first 7 editions of the World Championship.
Their coach, Soren Bjerg, was an extremely well known and accomplished player for many years before moving into the mentoring role. They have some great players on their roster, like Heo Seung-hoon (huni) and Tristan Schrage (PowerofEvil).
Team SoloMid is yet to claim a World Championship but has been consistently excellent across world tournaments. With a young roster that is filled with highly skilled players, you can expect them to lay their hands on a World Championship soon.
3. Fnatic
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Fnatic were the champions of the inaugural League of Legends World Championship and have made regular appearances at the tournament. They are a team that is very well known and feared on the League of Legends circuit.
They are coached by Jakob Mendi (YamatoCannon), who himself was a very strong League of Legends player. He leads a squad of very talented players like Gabrïel Rau (Wipo), Oskar Bodarek (Selfmade), and Elias Lipp (Upset).
Although their last World Championship was some time ago, they have been qualifying for the tournament quite regularly while also claiming accolades in tournaments across the globe. They could still be gunning for the big prize.
4. G2 eSports
Country of Origin: Germany
G2 eSports has been a mainstay on the League Of Legends world scene since the inception of the League of Legends World Championship. They finished 2nd in 2019 while finishing in 3rd in 2020. For a team that is only 5-6 years old, that is quite impressive.
Fabian Lohmann coaches this team, having years of League of Legends experience already under his belt. G2 eSports boasts some of the very best League of Legends players today. Their roster includes Martin Nordal Hansen (Wunder) and Marcin Jankowski (Jankos).
Having been so close to claiming the World Championship on the last two occasions, G2 eSports will definitely be on the hunt for their very first League of Legends world title soon.
5. Invictus Gaming
Country of Origin: China
Invictus Gaming was founded by a Chinese businessman in 2011. For a while, they competed in League of Legends tournaments across the world, not really making a huge splash. They won a few regional tournaments here and there.
In 2019, they blew up. They placed second at the World Championship, following that up with a win in 2020. They are one of the very best teams on the circuit right now. Coached by Long Hong-Zhou, their roster includes Kang Seung-lok (TheShy) and Gao Zhen-Ning (Ning).
With strong finishes at the last two World Championships, you can expect to see a lot more from Invictus Gaming in the future.
In conclusion
League of Legends has truly become a phenomenon. Tournaments rake in millions of dollars in sponsorship, and prize money purses are getting bigger with each passing year. It takes a lot of skill and a lot of hard work to get to the highest levels.
These are some of the teams that made it there. You can expect many new teams to show up in the coming years. Many fresh, young teams boast some of the very best players in the world. It’s going to be an exciting few years ahead, for sure.
