Invictus Gaming vs DAMWON Gaming

For our first match of the day we have a rather exciting clash between the third seed from the LPL -- who also happen to be the defending World Champions -- and the third seed from the LCK. On paper, this isn't exactly the most exciting of match-ups, but it's a fantastic one nonetheless.

It is a fight between two extremely talented rosters, and two teams that are well-equipped for the current meta. When they're at they're best, they're a force of nature. When that's not the case, however, they're pretty darn mild and reactive.

Invictus Gaming is currently looking mighty strong. While they're supposedly not playing at their 2018 level, they're still Invictus Gaming. In other words, they still have some of the best players in the entire world, and they still have Rookie and TheShy. Two key factors, without a doubt. When they manage to impose their playstyle and set the pace of the game, it feels like closing the game is just a formality. Watching them play is a thing of beauty. Because of their stellar performance, they're the only team in group D that has two wins. They beat both ahq Esports Club as well as Team Liquid -- the team everyone gave the edge to after the 2019 Mid-Season Invitational.

But Invictus persevered, and then some. They got the job done and looked fantastic in the process.

Conversely, Damwon wasn't able to find as much success. Their 1-1 record is far from bad, but they're just not playing at a high enough level to actually warrant our benefit of the doubt. They're not bad per se, but after the insane amount of hype they had coming into the tournament, everything they do just feels like a disappointment. Whether or not they get out of groups still remains to be seen, but the odds definitely aren't in their favor. Not in the slightest. Despite this, they're a capable challenger, one that is flexible and aggressive. They have the right tools to compete, and they might as well find success further down the road when they manage to get on the same page and play as a five-man unit.

In the end, we simply have to side with the defending World Champions. There's no reason not to, especially after seeing them dominate and play at such a staggeringly high level over the last couple of days. If they keep this up, they're bound to get out of groups as the number one seed, and Damwon Gaming is just a relatively negligible obstacle in their path.