League of Legends Worlds 2019: Top five picks from G2 vs. SKT

G2 Esports secured a spot in the 2019 League of Legends World Championship final when they took down SK Telecom T1 on Sunday, but which champions were vital to their 3-1 victory?

Hype series after hype series, the 2019 World Championship has certainly not failed to deliver fans with endless entertainment and excitement so far, especially when it came to the semi-finals. First, FunPlus Phoenix took down Invictus Gaming in one of the highest action best-of-five series in League of Legends history, followed by G2 Esports’ unbelievable 3-1 triumph over three-time world champions SK Telecom T1.

The current LEC champions took down the most successful League of Legends organization of all time on Sunday in by far the closest series of the tournament. Despite falling behind in four out of four early games, G2 somehow clawed their way back continuously to shut down SKT in team fights and take down their nexus for three vital victories.

As the best-of-five developed and evolved, so did the drafts, and a number of champions showed their face throughout champion select. When the most innovative team of all time face off against the side that crafted the competitive meta for several years, there was bound to be a tonne of unique and important picks in the draft phase.

Here are five champion choices that made the difference in G2’s win over SKT:

1. Xayah – G2 Perkz

It may not be innovative or unique, but Perkz’s Xayah pick in games 1 and 3 shaped the outcome of Sunday’s semi-final series between G2 and SKT. Often referred to as “the best Xayah at the tournament”, G2’s Croatian bot laner has once again proved that his off-season role change was a 500 IQ move as he cements himself amongst the top ADCs in the world.

In fact, Perkz’s performances on the marksman were so impressive that SKT was forced to ban the Xayah in both games 2 and 4, reducing their impact in the draft. Fortunately for the European side, Perkz has a wide range of champions to choose from and reverted back to the Ezreal and Yasuo when forced off his almost-infamous Xayah pick to close out the series.

2. LeBlanc – SKT Faker

This series was one to forget for the greatest League of Legends player of all time as he was caught out multiple times in late game team fights, arguably handing the series to G2 Esports, particularly in game 4. That being said, one redeeming factor for Faker in his team’s 3-1 loss was his excellent LeBlanc display in game 2 which saw him bully Caps in the laning phase and carry his team to victory through intelligent map movement and mid-game picks.

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God may be down, but he’s not out, as there’s no doubt that this result will drive Faker on to improve in the 2020 season and look to push for his fourth World Championship with SKT. Despite his shortcomings in Sunday’s match, there were glimpses of peak Faker as he controlled the mid lane through the early game and roamed around the map to snowball his team’s lead.

3. Yasuo – SKT Teddy

If there’s one SKT player who can leave this game with his head held high, it’s their new marksman Teddy. In his first season at the organization, Teddy has established himself as one of the strongest AD Carries in the world and can be the player to take SKT forward in future competitions.

At times in this series, the South Korean ADC was mere auto-attacks away from single-handedly winning team fights and snatching victory from the jaws of defeat for his team, but it wasn’t to be. His Yasuo in game 2 was astounding to watch and was too much for G2 to handle, resulting in SKT’s only win of the bo5.

4. Orianna – G2 Caps

Game-winning Shockwaves have been a staple of the World Championship since Season 1 and Caps continued that tradition in game 3 against SKT. When G2 were searching for an answer to Faker’s unstoppable Ryze, Caps opted for the Orianna to offer lane presence and team fight utility, although some fans were disappointed in the unfulfilled Veigar hover.

Nevertheless, Caps finally got a grip over his mid lane counter-part with this pick, keeping it tight in the early game before contributing high burst damage and huge ultimates in the mid to late game. Despite Perkz taking all the plaudits through the series, Caps deserved some credit for his ability to bring out the Orianna and Syndra to huge success in G2’s final two wins.

5. Olaf – G2 Jankos

If I’d told you that the G2 vs. SKT series would be decided by an Olaf zoning Faker out of every team fight before the games started, you would have never believed me, but that’s exactly how it went down. After failing to get a grip of the jungle in any of the first three games, Jankos switched it up and brought out the Olaf to take control of the early game and path proactively to get his laners ahead.

It didn’t really work, but that’s not the point. In fact, strangely enough, it was the late game in which the Olaf had the most impact as Jankos permanently tracked Faker’s Qiyana prior to team fights and ensured he could never enter a skirmish to provide his Supreme Display of Talent to stun up multiple opponents. Jankos’ tournament has not been vintage by any means, but if he can win games by simply standing in the way of his enemies to set up a 4v4, then I’m sure he’ll take that any day of the week.

Which pick made the biggest impact on this series in your opinion? Who do you think will win next week’s final? Let us know in the comments, on Facebook, or on Twitter!