Breaking down Group C

When the dust settles, the survivors of Group C will have earned their keep. Every single team in Group C have either won a championship in their home region, or led their region for an extended period of time this season - or both. Fnatic are three-time EU LCS champions, LMQ led the NA LCS and tied for the best record in the league, OMG have won two LPL season titles and led a large part of 2014, and Samsung Blue won an OGN Championship and finished runner-up in the most recent one. With the favorite to win the tournament headlining, it appears to be a race for second place, but from top to bottom, all teams are packed with talented players that can be counted among the world's best. Who will survive the group of death?

Teams

Fnatic

Top: sOAZ Jungle: Cyanide Mid: xPeke ADC: Rekkles Support: Yellowstar Fnatic have been the kings of Europe for almost a year. Though they were finally displaced by Alliance in the EU LCS Summer Playoffs this season, they still remain a top team, and have plenty of international experience to draw upon. Unfortunately for Fnatic, they haven't looked in their top form recently. They had lackluster performances for the first half of the season before going on an enormous winning streak, including an undefeated Week 11 to close out the season. They earned the second seed after defeating Roccat in the semifinals 3-2 and then losing out to Alliance 3-1 in the finals. While Fnatic has suffered from motivational issues throughout the regular season, they put up consistent performances when it really counts.

LMQ

Top: Ackerman Jungle: NoName Mid: XiaoWeiXiao ADC: Vasilii Support: Mor LMQ has had a long journey to get to Worlds. They struggled in China's LPL, consistently placing toward the middle of the pack, before deciding to trek across the Pacific to join the LCS. LMQ has become the embodiment of the American Dream. They spent six months playing in Challenger, earning their keep before forcibly removing XDG from the LCS 3-0. They dominated the NA LCS for much of the Summer Split and finished tied for the best record in the league. LMQ lost to Team SoloMid 3-2 in the semifinals, but managed to defeat Team Curse in the 3rd place match to secure their spot to Worlds. Throughout their tenure in the LCS, and even during their time in Challenger, LMQ has embraced their new home, showing a great deal of regional pride. They've stated their goal is to show the world what North American teams can do on the international stage.

OMG

Top: Gogoing Jungle: Loveling Mid: Cool ADC: San Support: Cloud / DaDa777 OMG was perhaps the second best team at Worlds in 2013. During the Group stage, both OMG and SKT T1 K traded wins, and didn't lose another game throughout. The one team they didn't want to play was the team that had their number in China - Royal Club. OMG fell swiftly 2-0 to Royal and was eliminated from the tournament. They have a similar fate this year. After dominating LPL for the past year and remaining China's top team for months, they lost out to both Edward Gaming and, once again, Star Horn Royal Club in China’s Regionals. While they’re consistently among the World's elite, and are thought of highly internationally, they have yet to enter the truly elite teams in the World, potentially caused by their instability at support. Can OMG best their internal struggles and once again prove they are a top team?

Samsung Blue

Top: Acorn Jungle: Spirit Mid: Dade ADC: Deft Support: Heart Samsung Blue's story is one of redemption. Samsung White left last season in disappointment, with Dade being exposed because of his small off-meta champion pool, while Samsung Blue underperformed in OGN consistently throughout 2013 and Winter 2014. To try to bring both organizations back to prominence, the Samsung organization swapped midlaners Pawn and Dade. The results are self evident - they are the two best teams in the World. Samsung Blue won the OGN Spring season over Najin White Shield and then returned to the finals against KT Rolster Arrows the following season in the Summer. In both events, Samsung Blue eliminated sister team Samsung White in the semifinals. Their stranglehold of the OGN Circuit Points gave them the top seed in Korea. While the tournament favorites aren't as clear cut as they were last season, Samsung Blue are currently on top of the world.

GROUP DYNAMIC

Many things depend on just how good Samsung Blue is. If the Korean hype is real, and they are the top players at every position, Samsung Blue will emerge untouched from the group. However, even just looking at records, and ignoring supposed Korean superiority, Blue has to be the favorite as a national champion and best team from their region - something no other team in this group can claim. Aside from Blue, Fnatic, OMG and LMQ are all very evenly matched. OMG is likely the most talented at mid, top, and jungle of any of the teams, but the team's bot lane is where weakness can be exploited. In this regard, Fnatic may prove to be OMG's weakness - Rekkles and Yellowstar are potentially the best bot lane in the World. Meanwhile, LMQ is a conundrum. When they last played in China, they were not a very strong team, and regularly lost to teams like OMG. However they have improved volumes since then, while simultaneously retaining their Chinese playstyle and adopting the North American mindset in game. This group will come down to teams taking advantage of their own strengths and exploiting other team's weaknesses. Each competitor will be rewarded for team synergy and discipline, and they’ll be punished for personnel weaknesses at key positions.

PLAYSTYLES

Only one thing is certain - teams will go HAM. Samsung Blue, OMG, and LMQ play extremely aggressively, whether ahead or behind. While Samsung Blue is more disciplined and controlled in their aggressive actions, particularly in jungle and mid lane, OMG and LMQ have proven that they only go one direction - in. Fnatic on the other hand uses teamplay and rotational movements to accomplish their goals. But while this remains their primary objective, their dragon control has suffered at key parts of their season. Fnatic's biggest strength is their teamwork and synergy, as they’re almost always on the same page. In addition to their strategy, they often win on the backs of the mechanics of their bot lane, both early and in the mid to late game. The early game will be extremely important, as the uncontrolled aggression of LMQ and OMG will punish early mistakes. Meanwhile, Samsung Blue and Fnatic will prefer to display their superior teamwork and execution in the mid game.

KEY PLAYERS

XiaoWeiXiao XiaoWeiXiao is the consistent performer for LMQ, and the ebb and flow of his own game often controls how well LMQ will play. Though he was frequently the best player in North America during the summer, and was given the MVP award as a result, his playoff performance was much below his standards. LMQ will need their diverse mid laner to play up to standard to have a chance of getting out of the group. Cool In the 2013 Worlds tournament, Cool proved himself to be an elite player in the eyes of fans, who saw a near flawless OMG storm through the Group Stage and into the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, Cool's career took a stop for several months as health issues kept him from playing during the Spring. Though his recovery was long, Cool is now back to the near-perfect form it was during last year's Worlds. OMG has struggled, but the one constant for the team has been Cool, who at times looks to single-handedly carry his team. Yellowstar While Rekkles was voted MVP of Europe this split, Yellowstar actually came third in votes. Yellowstar has been a high performer, particularly on Morgana, for the entire split. Even when his team had bad weeks, Yellowstar was a constant. As Fnatic's bot lane is their greatest strength, Fnatic will need Yellowstar to keep up his superstar form to snowball their advantage to the rest of the team. Dade While Samsung Blue is an incredibly strong team, Dade is the catalyst for their success. There's never been a better time for Dade, as his primary champions are currently at the top of the metagame. Dade will be able to simply outclass most of his opposition, and Samsung Blue is able to snowball early game advantages with relative ease. If Dade has any measure of success, Samsung Blue will be difficult to defeat.

WILDCARDS

NoName There's no other way to spin this one - NoName was terrible in the NA LCS Summer Playoffs. His games on Lee Sin made him a liability, and almost cost his team a trip to Worlds. While NoName in general isn't a standout player, LMQ needs him to at least perform consistently to have a chance at winning. His mental errors are extremely costly when he plays high-risk, mechanical champions. Cloud & DaDa777 "When you have two, you have none." This is an adage in American Football about quarterbacks. The logic is that a team without a consistent starter really doesn't have a player who can perform at a top level. While OMG has been indecisive as to whether Cloud or DaDa777 is their man, largely due to inconsistent performances by the two supports, the team has finally settled on DaDa777 as the starter - for now, at least. If OMG has stability and performance from their support, they will crush opposition. Vasilii Vasilii has proven to be one of the best playmaking ADCs in North America, but also has turned in subpar performances where his aggression is his downfall. If Vasilii can be disciplined in his mechanical prowess, LMQ will be a dangerous team, but if he continues to be a loose cannon - one who rocket jumps into the fray without thought - LMQ will struggle. sOAZ sOAZ is one of the most emotional players in professional League of Legends. When he has success, it provides a boost to the whole team. When he struggles early, it affects his game for a whole series. If sOAZ can control his emotions, or get off to a great start, it will be a huge boon for Fnatic. Fnatic will need sOAZ on an even keel.

GROUP PREDICTION

It's agonizing to try to figure out how this group will play out. Well, beyond the No. 1 seed. Sorry to disappoint people, but Samsung Blue is a metaphysical lock to get out of this group. They are the real deal. Dade is probably the best mid laner in the world right now (yes, that includes Faker), Deft is the best ADC in Korea, and their teamwork is absolutely pristine. It's hard to imagine them losing more than one or two games in this group. On the other hand, each of the other teams have their own weaknesses. sOAZ and Cyanide are inconsistent, OMG barely has a support player, and NoName has proven to be a liability, while Vasilii and Mor can't figure out if they are elite or mediocre. Given that these are the teams’ weaknesses, it looks like Fnatic is set to get out of this group. Fnatic has the best bot lane of any of these teams (including Blue), and Rekkles and Yellowstar will expose the weaker bot lanes in this group. xPeke will give up a little to Cool and XiaoWeiXiao, while sOAZ is slightly behind Gogoing and about even with Ackerman (a rematch from 2013 semifinals by the way). While it seems as if OMG is a better team than Fnatic, by a significant margin, Fnatic is set up to beat them, and for that reason, Fnatic should advance from this group.

1. Samsung Blue
2. Fnatic
3. OMG
4. LMQ

Frank Fields is a Senior Web Content Coordinator for Riot Games. You'll find him in solo queue on Ahri trying to DFG charm his way back into Diamond, or on Twitter where he'd love to talk to you about esports.