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Articles by Xing Li
Solo queue is why Western teams failed at Worlds
This was the year. If there was a time a Western team could win the League of Legends World Championship, 2021 was it. Ten years have passed since Fnatic won the first edition of the tournament. That means it’s been 10 years since the last European champion, while American organizations are still pursuing that elusive title. Then, unexpectedly, a boon came when Worlds was suddenly moved from Chinese to European soil.
It's time for Riot to remove import restrictions
It’s been a crazy offseason in League of Legends esports. The biggest bombshell move of all was when Cloud9 paid a reportedly massive buyout to bring superstar mid laner Perkz to the LCS. That move set off a chain reaction that totally remade the rosters of several top teams, including Fnatic and G2, and changed the landscape of the LEC and LCS. And the 2021 season will be infinitely more exciting because of it, a positive development for all the franchised leagues.
Why LCS fans shouldn't be disappointed by Worlds
Come Worlds season, it’s easy to bag on the LCS. After all, North America has never actually won Worlds to prove itself as the best region in the world. Every other major region, including the now-defunct LMS, has a Summoner’s Cup. And that won’t change in 2020 after all three NA League of Legends teams were eliminated before the knockout round. But for some reason, the criticism went up a level this year.
LEC power rankings: 2020 Summer Split week 7
The LEC playoff race has gotten interesting over the last several weeks of the 2020 Summer Split. There’s intrigue all over the place, with two teams tied for first place and more squads with identical records behind them. At this point, we think we know what the playoff teams will be, though a whopping three squads are tied and just one game out of the last spot. That means nine of the 10 League of Legends squads are in the running for the playoffs.
LCS power rankings: 2020 Summer Split week 7
Major fireworks went off in the LCS last week. After a half split of Cloud9 dominating in North America, the front-runners are all of a sudden struggling, never more so than in last week’s upset loss to Team Liquid. For the first team all year, it looks like C9 could have a fight on their hands for the LCS title. And it isn’t just Liquid in the mix, either.
LEC power rankings: 2020 Summer Split week 6
The LEC should be entering the most exciting stretch of the year. We’re heading into the Summer Split playoffs, and for the first time in many years, there are legitimate questions about who will win the league and who will even make the playoff field. With storied teams like G2, Fnatic, and Origen struggling as of late and teams like SK surging up the standings, excitement for the LEC should be at an all-time high.
LEC power rankings: 2020 Summer Split week 5
The LEC was going incredibly strong before a brief one-week haitus in the schedule. We had new League of Legends teams ascending to the top while several established groups were all of a sudden fighting for their lives. Our hope was that momentum would continue through the mini break and give us a banger finish to the Summer Split. Week five delivered on that hope. We saw some great games and the strong teams continue to rise to the top.
LCS power rankings: 2020 Summer Split week five
For the first four weeks of the 2020 Summer Split, we’ve complained about how boring the LCS has been. There have been exciting matchups and new teams on the rise in most major regions, but LCS viewers could expect to see Cloud9 stomping and TSM, well, not. Weekend after weekend it seemed like we were getting the same content, aside from a few well-placed videos from Ovilee May. That all changed in week five. Dignitas got a win—their first—and then turned around and did it again.
LCS power rankings: 2020 Summer Split week 4
The LCS production really went into overdrive after week four of the 2020 Summer Split. With Cloud9 storming through the league with precious little opposition, writers circled the upcoming week five matchup with TSM as a potential trap game. TSM has historically played C9 tough. The team was 6-2 after week four, tied for second behind the league leaders.
LEC power rankings: 2020 Summer Split week 4
Chaos and uncertainty have been the hallmarks of the 2020 LEC Summer Split. As we’ve covered extensively over the past several weeks, new teams are moving up the league table and overturning the established hierarchy that’s ruled Europe since 2016. But even then, we reserved some spots at the top for the old guard. We’ve seen G2 mess around for a few weeks before getting serious near playoff time and amping up their level of play.
LCS power rankings: 2020 Summer Split week three
The LCS is the easiest League of Legends region to bag on. Perennial disappointments at international events have made it seem like a weak cousin to the more powerful European and Asian leagues, despite the fact that League publisher Riot Games is based in North America. But even in the past, LCS fans have at least had something fun to watch during the regular season.
LEC power rankings: 2020 Summer Split week 3
After week two in the 2020 Summer Split, we wrote that there was change afoot in the LEC. Chaos has been the hallmark of the league this split, a big departure from a Spring Split that was mostly predictable. This week, that change extends to the top of the league where a new team sits atop the power rankings. For most of the last five years, G2 and Fnatic have taken turns in the first spot. But this time, it’s a League of Legends team that came out of nowhere.
LCS power rankings: 2020 Summer Split week two
The 2020 Summer Split has been pretty exciting for League of Legends esports fans around the world. China looks like it has a new team vying to lead the league. A couple Korean upstarts are making noise in the LCK. And Europe’s seen it’s fair share of upsets and young players leaving their mark. And then there’s the LCS. It’s common for North American teams to disappoint in comparison with their international competitors, with only Cloud9 being the exception to that rule.
LEC power rankings: 2020 Summer Split week 2
For a second straight week, chaos reigned in the LEC. After several notable upsets to kick off the 2020 Summer Split, big names kept going down in week two. The good news is that this creates even more excitement in a league where it feels like any team can win on a good day. It’s also good that many of those upsets come with the underdog team playing well, not just the better teams throwing. That’s all good in the chase for Europe’s four Worlds spots.
LCS power rankings: 2020 Summer Split week one
Summer Splits in League of Legends esports started off with a bang over the past few weeks. We’ve seen big upsets in most of the major regions, including a stunning one in Europe last week when Vitality beat G2. The one region where things have gone according to chalk was North America. There were no real surprises when the LCS began play last week, outside of the quality of the broadcast production, which even prompted a response from LCS commissioner Chris Greeley.
LEC power rankings: 2020 Summer Split week one
The journalist curse is real. Before the 2020 LEC Summer Split even started, we anointed G2 the champions of the LEC. G2 predictably won their first game before falling apart, first to Origen, and then in a shocker to Vitality. And with that, the cute storylines of G2 romping to another title were dashed to pieces. And that’s a good thing, because the LEC just got a whole lot more interesting.
LCS power rankings: 2020 Summer Split preview
Welcome to the LCS Summer Split, also known as the only LCS split that matters! Spring Split was fun, sure. But with no implications on Worlds seeding, it was ultimately a dalliance in low-impact League. And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic halted play in the LCS studio, prompting the players to vote to cancel the season rather than play online games from home. But Summer Split is no joke with actual Worlds spots on the line.
Conflicts of interest are inherent to the nature of sports—and esports | Dot Esports
There are a lot of things to love about esports. The competition is unparalleled and exciting. The courage it takes for players to step in front of thousands of screaming fans and make big plays is awe-inspiring. But under the surface, there’s another aspect of esports that many are aware of, but often don’t acknowledge outright. It’s the business of esports, which sees teams as moneymaking machines and players as disposable commodities.
LEC power rankings: 2020 Summer Split preview
If you could choose one team to win the LEC 2020 Summer Split, the easy answer is “G2.” Since the team got into the then-EU LCS in 2016, it has won a shocking seven titles out of nine splits. Even if the field is slightly favored against the Spanish side by some oddsmakers, the overwhelming sentiment is that G2 will crown themselves champions again this September.
LCS power rankings: 2020 Spring Split week 7
In Disney’s 2019 sequel movie Frozen 2, Idina Menzel plays Elsa, a girl who quite literally is at the top of her kingdom. With power and grace, she ruled as queen before a strange voice led her into the unknown. After seven weeks of the LCS Spring Split, it looks like North America is repeating that plot in more ways than one. In terms of gameplay, we saw some shocking upsets last week, including unbeaten Cloud9 losing to a 6-6 TSM team and Liquid losing two straight.
LEC power rankings: 2020 Spring Split week 7
The LEC is clutch. With the season wrapping up and playoff positioning on the line, the pressure has never been higher. Teams from lesser leagues, like the LCS, could have choked, producing the same type of clown fiesta that we’ve seen in North America over the past two weeks. That hasn’t happened in Europe. Instead, the best teams have kept things tight, beating the squads they’re supposed to beat.
LCS power rankings: 2020 Spring Split week 6
We told you this would happen. After week five of the 2020 LCS Spring Split, we reached a rare level of consensus in the power rankings. And then, in week six, it all got turned upside down. Let’s count out all the missteps: TSM went 0-2 on the week, including a befuddling loss to CLG in which the team looked like it was playing solo queue. Immortals managed to salvage a win over CLG, but only after losing to Golden Guardians, further muddling the playoff picture.
LEC power rankings: 2020 Spring Split week 6
We take a look at the players who will drive changes in the power rankings as the Spring Split comes to an end. We’re getting close to the playoffs with the 2020 LEC Spring Split drawing to a close. In contrast to the chaos of the LCS, which totally imploded after our last power rankings, the LEC looks pretty stable so far. In fact, most of the playoff field seems set with three weeks to go since Schalke, SK, and Vitality are all but eliminated.
LCS power rankings: 2020 Spring Split week 5
After five weeks, the LCS standings are entering a dangerous dimension. Things are super close, especially in the back half of the league, which will determine the final playoff positions. With four teams tied at 4-6 and two more holding at 5-5, even a little movement could cause the whole landscape of the LCS to change. The danger extends to our LCS power rankings. After a few weeks of chaos, we had a surprising consensus after week five of the 2020 Spring Split.
LEC power rankings: 2020 Spring Split week 5
This is the time of year when things start getting real in the LEC. We’re officially in the back half of the Spring Split, which means the playoff teams are separating from the pretenders and the best squads in the league are asserting their dominance. Unless, of course, you’re G2 Esports. Unlike Cloud9 in NA, G2 aren’t in tryhard mode quite yet, as evidenced by recent losses to Schalke and Mad Lions.
LCS power rankings: 2020 Spring Split week 3
How the mighty have fallen. In contrast to our LEC power rankings, in which G2 Esports continue to dominate that league, Liquid have tumbled out of the top two in the LCS edition. Going 0-2 in week three with one of those losses to Golden Guardians in primetime will do that. In fact, it’s more impressive now that they’re still third rather than much lower in our power rankings. A lot of that—OK, nearly all of it—is due to what happened last week to the teams below them in the rankings.
LEC power rankings: 2020 Spring Split week 3
After the second week of the 2020 LEC Spring Split, we wrote that doubt was fading about the fate of the league this year. G2 Esports looked like the best team after beating Origen. After week three, we might as well give them the trophy. G2 took down another top team, Fnatic, in dominating fashion. In the process, they revealed the massive gap that exists between first place in the league and all the other teams.
Broxah won't save Team Liquid
Liquid will continue to miss Xmithie, but given time, they’ll be better with Broxah. Team Liquid’s run of four straight LCS championships couldn’t continue forever. But it wasn’t supposed to end like this—it wasn’t supposed to end in utter disaster. That’s what Liquid find themselves facing after three weeks of play in the 2020 LCS Spring Split, though. The champs have won only twice and are tied for seventh place. And they just got beaten on Monday Night League by the worst team in North America.
LCS power ranking: 2020 Spring Split week 2
Our preseason LCS power rankings took a beating after the first week of play. Stalwarts like TSM and CLG really underperformed while Dignitas came out of nowhere to surprise us. But after a second week of seeing these teams on stage, we’ve arrived at an early state of precarious parity. In fact, when we asked our voters to rank each team from one point (worst) to 10 points (best), they were unanimous on four out of 10 teams.
LEC power rankings: 2020 Spring Split week 2
If there was any doubt about who’s the strongest team in the LEC, it was erased after week two of the 2020 Spring Split. That’s because league leaders G2 Esports came out and walloped second-place Origen, who were garnering some consideration as the best team in Europe. The biggest question then remaining was how far the tough loss would drop Origen in our power rankings. After all, they’re now tied with a resilient Fnatic squad at 3-1 in the standings. But to be fair, Fnatic haven’t played G2 yet.
League of Legends runes are broken
The rune system completely broke on Tuesday night with everyone getting default pages. Riot has a lot in store for League of Legends season 10, but broken runes weren’t supposed to be on the list. But for everyone that logged in on the night of Feb. 4, that’s what they got. The reports started coming in at around 9 pm CT. Players were complaining that every player was getpu8iting default runes in champion select that they could not change.
League of Legends Patch 10.3 competitive tier list
Most top laners in high elo League of Legends don’t expect to stroll into lane and get hit in the face with a banana. After all, top lane is supposed to be the dominion of the tentacle-wielding priestess and a big dude with an ax that can make you bleed. But over the last few patches, players have discovered that Soraka is a secretly OP top lane pick. She’s even being picked with success in professional games.
LCS power rankings: 2020 Spring Split week one
This year was supposed to be another year of the horse. Despite the Chinese zodiac starting over in 2020, nearly all LCS fans thought Liquid were going to add to their LCS trophy case with the offseason roster improvements they made. But after the first week of play, it looks like their grip over the region may be fading. In fact, our League experts were shaken enough that a new contender has risen to the top of the rankings.
LEC power rankings: 2020 Spring Split week one
Origen and G2 lead the class. Who’s next? The first week of the 2020 LEC Spring Split brought us some crazy upsets and led to a big shakeup at the top of the power rankings. After leading the region for years, G2 Esports all of a sudden looks vulnerable, at least if you think they’re not still trolling. Meanwhile, one of the oldest brands in the region is making a bid to regain its throne.
FlyQuest CEO Tricia Sugita: "I want everyone to know what FlyQuest stands for"
FlyQuest has had the slogan, “Showcase Greatness,” on its website for the past three years. Since the founding of the organization in 2018, this ethos has driven it like a war cry. It’s what unifies everyone in the company from the athletes to the business folks. The only problem is the saying isn’t well-known outside of the team’s own employees. In 2020, FlyQuest hopes to change that with a series of big initiatives, spearheaded by new CEO Tricia Sugita.
TSM is fighting against irrelevancy in 2020
When you think about it, it’s kind of crazy that TSM missed Worlds in 2019. The team’s absence in 2018 was expected given the challenges of moving on from star ADC Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng, the best player in LCS history. But another series of big roster moves led to a resurgence early the next year. The team was just one win away from taking home the Spring Split championship, breaking up Doublelift’s personal run of six-straight titles.
LCS power rankings: 2020 Spring Split preseason
Big things are on the horizon for the LCS. The 2020 League of Legends season is set to kick off this weekend and will feature some huge updates to the schedule, the playoff format, and the way teams qualify for Worlds. But that’s not all. We also have a new-look set of teams courtesy of three transactions that were made starting in the middle of last year’s Summer Split. Old friends Evil Geniuses, Dignitas, and Immortals are back in the LCS. It feels almost like the good old days of relegation again.
Chris Greeley on the LCS changes for 2020: "We've got really big plans through when we host Worlds in 2021"
The LCS is going through some big changes in 2020. Two years after the league converted to a franchised system with established teams and partners, Riot Games is making its largest changes to both the weekly schedule and the playoff format. These changes are meant to prepare the league for the future, according to LCS commissioner Chris Greeley.
Xing Li Profile | Dot Esports
Memelords never die: Cloud9 will always be known as Sneaky’s team It feels like Sneaky never got his due as the heart and soul of the Cloud9 brand. Riot needs to get rid of the import rule The LCS will continue to be a joke until import restrictions are removed. Korea’s reign over League of Legends is over For the second straight year, no Korean team will be in the Worlds final. What happened?
Memelords never die: Cloud9 will always be known as Sneaky's team
It feels like Sneaky never got his due as the heart and soul of the Cloud9 brand. It’s two days before Christmas 2019 and Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi’s Twitter bio still says “AD Carry Pro League of Legends Player for Cloud9.” This is despite the fact that it’s been over a month since C9 officially signed Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen, who also plays ADC. This wasn’t a mix-up or a tryout—Sneaky said on stream that he “won’t be playing for C9” in 2020.
Riot needs to get rid of the import rule
North America sucks at League of Legends. That sentiment, which has been bandied about for years, was thrown into the spotlight at Worlds 2019 when not a single team from the region qualified for the knockout round. The overwhelming reaction from NA fans to that debacle wasn’t disappointment or anger—it was resignation. This time, they weren’t just unlucky, they legitimately didn’t deserve a spot among the top-eight teams in the world.
Changes to Summoner's Rift and drakes in League season 10 will only confuse pro teams more
Figuring out which drakes to take and when will be a big challenge for pro teams in 2020. Elder Dragon is one of the strongest buffs in League of Legends. Any team that’s able to down the formidable objective should have everything they need to lay waste to the enemy base. But time after time, in solo queue and competitive play, teams are unable to finish with the Elder buff active. Maybe they take an inhibitor or a nexus turret.
Korea’s reign over League of Legends is over
For the second straight year, no Korean team will be in the Worlds final. What happened? On Nov. 3, what was once unthinkable happened for the second straight year. G2 Esports’ win over SK Telecom T1 in the Worlds semifinals wasn’t entirely unpredictable—in fact, G2 did the same thing at MSI. It’s the broader picture on the strength of regions that’s so shocking. Instead of facing another LCK team for the championship, G2 will instead go up against an LPL team, FunPlus Phoenix.
Faker's top 5 plays from the Worlds 2019 group stage
The 2018 League of Legends World Championship had a lot of things going for it: a fun meta, amazing games, and a new team being crowned as the best in the world. But there was one thing we were missing. A team that defined itself by winning Worlds and a player that had made the tournament his personal playground. It just didn’t feel quite the same to have Worlds without SK Telecom T1 and its star mid laner, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok.
Griffin’s season mirrors IG’s championship run last year—and now they play each other | Dot Esports
2 mins ago League of Legends / Griffin / Invictus Gaming / League Worlds / In 2018, Invictus Gaming couldn’t seem to win a best-of-five match until finally breaking through at Worlds. Something extraordinary happened to Griffin during the first week of the Worlds main event. The darlings of the LCK who stormed onto the region’s stage last summer and took down heavyweight after heavyweight were in some dire straits.
A 5-step plan for North America to win Worlds
Worlds 2019 was a complete catastrophe for League of Legends teams from North America. The region’s fans are used to their teams getting eliminated earlier than expected. But for the first time since 2015, not a single team advanced past the group stage. This type of failure stings even for a region that’s used to disappointment. After years of talking about narrowing the gap between Western and Eastern teams, it’s clear that narrowing only happened for Europe while North America got left behind.
Liquid's failure at Worlds 2019 is a failure for all of North America
For the briefest of moments, there was hope for North America at this year’s League of Legends World Championship. Clutch Gaming and Cloud9 had been eliminated, but Team Liquid went into the last day of the group stage with a 2-1 record. All they needed was to reproduce that effort to have a strong shot at surviving into the knockout stage. It didn’t happen. They only beat winless ahq e-Sports Club, falling to DAMWON Gaming first and then to Invictus Gaming.
Team Liquid stay alive at Worlds with a win over ahq
The game could hardly have started worse for Team Liquid. Coming off a loss to DAMWON Gaming, Liquid’s hopes at the League of Legends 2019 World Championship were hanging by a thread heading into their match with ahq e-Sports Club. Then disaster struck. Just like in the loss to to DAMWON, Liquid achieved bot side priority, which prompted jungler Jake “Xmithie” Puchero to walk into the bot side river.
Invictus Gaming turn to Ning with their Worlds hopes on the line
The second half of the group stage round robin at Worlds is a strange time to start experimenting. Usually by this point, teams have figured out what they want to do and are focusing how to improve that, rather than reaching for new ideas altogether. But Invictus Gaming is doing the opposite. The team announced […] The second half of the group stage round robin at Worlds is a strange time to start experimenting.
Riot just put the entire gaming industry on notice
Riot Games’ 10th Anniversary celebration was one of the most epic events we’ve seen in gaming. The company, which has been endlessly memed for only having produced one game, didn’t just reveal a second title during the event. A whopping four different games, all in separate categories, were revealed or teased, and that doesn’t even count games like Wild Rift which are takes on existing game modes but brought to new platforms.
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