BLG Sweeps LCK's HLE 2-0 to Take the Last Spot in the League of Legends Worlds Quarterfinals
Bilibili Gaming avenged its MSI final loss with a 2-0 sweep of Hanwha Life Esports, setting an all-Chinese quarterfinal between iG and TES — and guaranteeing a Chinese semifinalist at this year's world championship.
Bilibili Gaming needed one win in the final round of the Swiss stage to reach the League of Legends world championship's knockout bracket. It delivered two games' worth: a 2-0 sweep of South Korea's Hanwha Life Esports on Sunday morning, closed out with a 14-3 game, and with it the last of eight quarterfinal places. The draw held hours later had immediate consequences — iG against TES, an all-Chinese series that guarantees at least one Chinese team in this year's semifinals.
The result also settled a score. HLE beat BLG in the Mid-Season Invitational final 112 days ago; BLG's fans had waited for the rematch ever since, and the second game was never close. One commentary site put it simply: "Sent HLE home." TES had already secured its own quarterfinal place earlier in the week, beating BLG 2-1 in an all-Chinese series that doubled as a statement of form.
The quarterfinals run from Wednesday to Saturday, each series starting at 6 a.m. Beijing time: iG versus TES first, then Gen.G against Lyon Gaming, Dplus KIA against BLG, and T1 against KC. iG's return to the knockout stage after 2,565 days away has been one of this tournament's running stories — Korean fans have taken to calling the rebuilt squad a miracle team — and its meeting with TES is the bracket's marquee derby.
The drawer smiled on T1, and plenty of fans read it as a bye. The analysts are less convinced. One commentator who polled coaches and analysts found most of them leaning toward KC: T1 has been "extremely unstable" this tournament, at times carried by its top laner, while KC has improved with every round. His own conclusion was the sport's oldest: never discount a team that has won the last three world titles.
The series' lasting image may belong to the team that lost it. HLE's Korean marksman Viper, speaking to reporters after the match, said his mother was battling cancer: "I hope she can see me perform on stage, and recover soon." The clip travelled across the Chinese internet within hours, drawing more sympathy than any breakdown of the draft could.
The quarterfinals open Wednesday at 6 a.m. Beijing time with iG against TES — the tournament's first knockout series, and the one that puts a Chinese team into the semifinals no matter who wins.