At the 2024 League of Legends World Championship, North America’s hopes rested on Team Liquid (TL) and FlyQuest. Expectations were high for the two representatives of the North American (NA) region.
Both teams formed rosters with new young NA talent and veterans finding success this year with Team Liquid winning over Flyquest in the Spring LCS finals and Flyquest taking revenge against Team Liquid in the Summer Finals.
The similarity in the teams fielding young NA talent and being neck and neck throughout the year created a strong rivalry that followed them to the World Championships.
Both teams’ journey through the Swiss Stage of the tournament was intense, with each team facing fierce international competition.
Finally, FlyQuest eliminated its American brethren to reach the elimination stage in a 2-1 nail-biter.
Team Liquid
Team Liquid entered Worlds as North America’s second seed, and faced a challenging Swiss Stage bracket.
Yet, Team Liquid’s previous successful international performances and its roster being led by seasoned veterans like CoreJJ, Impact, and Umti alongside NA talents in APA and Yeon who attended the last World Championships, there were high hopes of making a deep run.
However, their performance was a rollercoaster as they lost their first two matches against China’s LNG Esports (LNG) and WeiBo Gaming (WBG). While both matches were close, Team Liquid seemed out of form and outmatched by the two eastern teams.
Being down 0-2 this early in the tournament meant that Team Liquid would be playing every match from this point under the threat of elimination.
With their back against the wall, TL was able to bounce back, beating Brazil’s Pain Gaming (PNG) in a 2-0 victory in their third match. However, many fans lost hope for a deep run as the team looked shaken and out of form in this victory.
For their next match, Team Liquid faced up against Vietnam’s Gigabyte Marines (GAM) who eliminated Team Liquid in last year’s World’s Swiss stage. With Team Liquid dropping Game 1 against GAM, many fans feared a repeat of last year’s disappointing run.
Fortunately Team Liquid was able to bounce back, winning the last two games in the series to bring them a final match that could qualify them for the knockout stage.
Flyquest
FlyQuest, on the other hand, came into Worlds as the top seed from the LCS.
However, there were questions surrounding this roster as they struggled at the previous international tournament. Although their roster had longtime veterans in Inspired and Bwipo, there were still many concerns as it would be the first World Championship for Korean rookie, Quad, and NA talents, Busio and Massu.
Despite these potential concerns, Flyquest’s Swiss stage was much more promising.
They beat two wild card teams out of their first three matches, beating Vietnam’s Gigabyte Marines (GAM) and Taiwan’s PSG Talon while falling short against Korea’s Dplus Kia. This brought FlyQuest to a score of 2-1, which meant another victory would guarantee qualification.
Unfortunately, they would have to face Hanwha Life Esports (HLE) who were regarded as one of the tournament favorites in their next match.
Although no one had hope for Flyquest, they showed signs of life when FlyQuest’s jungler Inspired chose an off-meta pick, Nunu and Willump, surprising fans and HLE alike by taking Game 2.
However, Flyquest fell short in Game 3 losing the series bringing them to their final decider match.
The NA Showdown
For the final match, as fate would have it, Flyquest and Team Liquid matched up against each other to either qualify for the knockout stage or go home.
This match would be a culmination of these two-team rivalries this year. This was the showdown at the top that would ultimately determine who was the better NA team at the end of the 2024 season.
The result was similar to the performance of each team throughout this tournament, Flyquest showed signs of hope throughout the Swiss stage and was able to win 2-1 against Team Liquid who seemed to be on a downward trend ever since their loss against Flyquest in the summer finals.
With this victory, Flyquest qualified for the playoff stage of Worlds which was a monumental achievement for an NA team, who rarely reach that stage of the competition.
However, for Team Liquid it was a heartbreaking loss - performing well throughout the year, but not delivering when it mattered most. Flyquest being the bottom seed entering the Knockout stage, they were faced against tournament favorite, Mid Season Invitational (MSI) Champion, and Korean powerhouse Gen.G.
David vs Goliath
Flyquest being the bottom seed entering the Knockout stage, they were faced against tournament favorite, Mid Season Invitational (MSI) Champion, and Korean powerhouse Gen.G.
With Gen.G having arguably one of the best rosters in the world with players such as Chovy and Canyon, many fans did not believe Flyquest would even take one game.
However, Flyquest completely overturned expectations by taking the first game away from Gen.G with a surprising off-meta pick in Seraphine mid. These creative strategies and unorthodox champion picks from Flyquest would continue throughout the series.
In Game 2 Flyquest went back to Inspired’s Nunu and Willump pick that they brought out against HLE. However, Gen.G answered with an unorthodox pick of their own in Chovy’s Kassadin leading to Gen.G equalizing the series.
Once again in Game 3, Flyquest continued their own style of drafting, picking Quad’s Zeri mid and Bwipo’s signature Urgot. This game came down to the wire - with an outstanding performance from Flyquest’s rookie ADC Massu and midlaner Quad bringing the best team in the world to match point.
At this point, fans started to believe that an upset was possible. FlyQuest was showcasing impressive team coordination, particularly in their ability to capitalize on chaotic fights and turn seemingly lost situations in their favor.
However, in Game 4 Flyquest opted for a standard draft leading to most of Flyquest players struggling throughout this game. Gen.G was able to win and bring the match to a final Game 5 to decide who would advance to the semi-finals.
In Game 5 Flyquest returned to their unorthodox style with Inspired Fiddlesticks Jungle and Bwipo’s Sett Top. Gen.G answered with a late game game-centric team composed of Chovy’s Smolder mid and Peyz’s Ziggs ADC.
Unfortunately for Flyquest, Gen.G’s experience and strategic resilience came through in the final match. Led by standout performances from their star players, they managed to regain control in the final game, effectively countering FlyQuest’s aggressive moves. Gen.G’s clutch decision-making in the late game proved to be the key to securing their spot in the semifinals.
An Overall Success
While FlyQuest’s journey at Worlds 2024 ended against Gen.G their performance cemented them as not only the best NA team but, the best Western team of 2024. Alongside their performance, especially their NA talents and rookies brought hope that many North American fans had not had for years.
Overall, although there still seems to be a gap between North America and Eastern regions such as Korea and China, FlyQuest proved through its unique strategies that it is not impossible to challenge these regions.
Looking to next year, let us hope that North American teams, notably Team Liquid and FlyQuest, can build upon the successes and failures from this Worlds Championship adventure to come back stronger in future international competitions.