IWCI Group Stage Ends; Bangkok Titans Show Stellar Performance
The League of Legends International Wildcard Invitational (IWCI) recently concluded its groups stage. After three days of intense bouts, four out of the seven teams across the globe have qualified for the bracket stage to be held later. Southeast Asia’s Bangkok Titans (BKT) impressed viewers worldwide with a 5-1 result, showcasing the power of one of the oldest regions.
The IWCI invited the top teams from Brazil, Latin America, Japan, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Oceania, Southeast Asia (SEA) and Turkey to compete in order to determine who will take the Wildcard slot for the Mid-Season Invitational in May. For SEA, this is the first time they competed in a Wildcard tournament, though they have participated the World Championship multiple times. This was due to the fact that Taiwan split off into their own region, forming the LoL Masters Series (LMS). Another issue for the region coming into the tournament was the fact that the Saigon Jokers (SAJ) were supposed to be the ones flying to Turkey for the IWCI, but was hindered by visa issues.
The group stage was run as a single round robin with best-of-one matches. In the course of six games, BKT was able to showcase its strength both as a team and a region, beating opponents convincingly. They proved that as one of the pioneer regions, they have the experience and expertise to compete in international waters. Nuttapong “G4“Menkasikan, the star mid laner, outplayed his lane opponents easily, while the versatile Pawat “WarL0cK” Ampaporn played the right champions their team comp needed, whether it being a hard initiate or a carry. The Titan’s strong laning and teamfight mechanics outshined everyone else’s, dropping only one game to INTZ.
Together with BKT, CIS’ Hard Random, Brazil’s INTZ e-Sports and Turkey’s own Beşiktaş e-Sports Club also qualified for the next stage of the tournament. Playing best-of-five matches from this point onwards, it is now time for LoL fans to see how well the wildcard teams adapt and play under immense pressure.
(Credits to LoLeSports.com for images)
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