The first week of the League of Legends World Championship has come to a close and the tournament has gotten off to a riveting start.
There may have been doubts about League of Legends’ future as an esports title, at least from European fans, but that was quickly forgotten after some nail-biting, high-level matches.
Korean teams have been as dominant as always but teams from China, North America and Europe are all giving them a run for their money.
Three-time world champions SKT will want to reclaim their trophy and look as strong as ever
![The passionate Chinese crowd have been very loud, they're still behind the struggling EDG](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/10/09/15/452B5CC000000578-0-image-a-30_1507559655508.jpg)
The passionate Chinese crowd have been very loud, they’re still behind the struggling EDG
Group A:
There’s little surprise in Group A that SKT are the leaders of the pack.
The record breaking, three-time World Champions have made their group look easy for the most part.
The only struggle they faced was against Chinese team EDG who found themselves with a 9.1k golf lead at 25 minutes.
It looked like a certain defeat for SKT but a sensational wombo combo from SKT flipped the game on its head and helped them complete a comeback.
Other than that, EDG have looked flat, dropping games to Cloud9 and an otherwise weak AHQ. Meanwhile, Cloud9 have looked impressive but won’t get ahead of themsleves knowing NA’s record in week two.
![EDG put in an impressive performance against SKT but have failed to pick up a single win yet](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/10/09/15/452B5CC400000578-0-EDG_put_in_an_impressive_performance_against_SKT_but_have_failed-a-32_1507559922973.jpg)
EDG put in an impressive performance against SKT but have failed to pick up a single win yet
![Cloud9 look good but with NA's bad week two record, they'll have to look over their shoulders](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/10/09/15/452B5CB400000578-0-Cloud9_look_good_but_with_NA_s_bad_week_two_record_they_ll_have_-a-31_1507559920131.jpg)
Cloud9 look good but with NA’s bad week two record, they’ll have to look over their shoulders
Group B:
Group B has followed a similar pattern with a Korean team dominating, a North American team impressing and a big name flopping.
LCK champions Longzhu have unsurprisingly looked fantastic, they have barely broken a sweat in their group.
Immortals look like a well-rounded unit who will make life difficult for any team.
Their did brilliantly to fight back in their game against Fnatic and capitalised on one late mistake from Rekkles to win that crucial match.
Fnatic had a superb early game which resulted in Rekkles being extremely fed and he looked potent on the Twitch pick. However, with a mountain of pressure on him he flashed forward and died instantly.
His one mistake cost Fnatic that game, in which was really their only solid performance of the Group Stages so far. They were steamrolled by Longzhu but the really bad result was against Gigabyte Marines.
Vietnamese team GAM shocked the world when with their strong performance at the Mid Season Invitational which helped them qualify for Worlds. Despite that, most expected them to be outclassed by the rest of their group.
Yet they shocked again, their unconventional strategies and lane rotations caught Fnatic off guard and gave the European giants the worst start possible. Things have only gotten worse for Fnatic who’s second week will most likely be more about pride than placement.
![Fnatic have suffered a torrid tournament for their standards and have yet to win pick up a win](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/10/09/17/452B5D9E00000578-4963450-Fnatic_have_suffered_a_torrid_tournament_for_their_standards_and-a-49_1507565024875.jpg)
Fnatic have suffered a torrid tournament for their standards and have yet to win pick up a win
![Gigabyte Marines have shocked teams and entertained fans with insane, innovative strategies](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/10/09/16/452B5CB000000578-0-image-a-36_1507561628829.jpg)
Gigabyte Marines have shocked teams and entertained fans with insane, innovative strategies
Group C:
Tipped to be one of the toughest groups before the Group Stages started, Group C has lived up to the hype.
Samsung Galaxy are a Korean team and were last year’s runner-up so they were obviously favourites to top their group.
And despite starting off strong with a win against G2, the rest of their performances haven’t been convincing.
They were blown out of the water by RNG without securing a single kill and narrowly avoided a shock defeat to 1907 Fenerbahce who were leading in gold until very end of the match.
On the other hand, RNG are the one Chinese team who have really stepped up. They followed up their astounding win against Samsung with a crucial win against G2 which was breathtakingly close game.
One of the most entertaining games of the tournament so far, G2 and RNG went back and forward of one-upping each other. The breaking point, was Jian ‘Uzi’ Zi-Hao’s unbelievably performance on Twitch.
It was a difficult pill for G2 to swallow. They have looked strong but the nature of their group means ‘good’ performances aren’t enough. They will feel hard done by but if they want to be the best, this is the opposition they have to defeat.
![Uzi couldn't contain his joy after his world class performance won RNG the game against G2](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/10/09/16/452B5DAA00000578-0-image-m-44_1507563344571.jpg)
Uzi couldn’t contain his joy after his world class performance won RNG the game against G2
![G2 haven't played badly but haven't picked up the results, they will need a good second week](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/10/09/16/452B5DA600000578-0-image-a-40_1507563306511.jpg)
G2 haven’t played badly but haven’t picked up the results, they will need a good second week
Group D:
What a group this has turned out to be. With three teams drawing for first, there’s everything still to play for.
Flash Wolves have proved themselves as a strong team internationally over the years but they look a shadow of their former selves.
They put up a strong performance against TSM but still lost the game and otherwise haven’t performed.
TSM have looked very strong and their other win against Team WE was a huge result for them after the Chinese team had looked dominant in their home region.
Misfits felt the full force of WE in their opening game in which they appeared to be a dear stuck in headlights. They then built up their confidence in a slow victory against Flash Wolves before a thrilling vicotry against TSM.
Not many expected Misfits to perform this well in their first international tournament but they seem to improve every time they step foot on stage.
![Hans Sama was one of the key performers in Misfits' impressive victory against NA's TSM](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/10/09/17/452B5D9200000578-4963450-Hans_Sama_was_one_of_the_key_performers_in_Misfits_impressive_vi-a-50_1507565030105.jpg)
Hans Sama was one of the key performers in Misfits’ impressive victory against NA’s TSM
![TSM will be disappointed they lost against Misfits but will still be confident of escaping groups](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/10/09/16/452B5D8E00000578-0-TSM_will_be_disappointed_they_lost_against_Misfits_but_will_stil-a-47_1507564515406.jpg)
TSM will be disappointed they lost against Misfits but will still be confident of escaping groups
Still, we’re only halfway through the Group Stages and the face of every group could still change.
Europe had a torrid start to the week but redeemed themselves slightly towards the end. North America have looked good and could finally see more than one team qualify for the quarter finals.
There are a lot of possible outcomes and the second week guarantees to be entertaining. Hopefully we’ll see just as many fast-paced, tightly-contested, thrilling matches that will get fans out of their seats.