5 Takeaways from the League of Legends Mid-Season Cup

The smoke has cleared from the League of Legends Mid-Season Cup, which saw China's top talent square off against Korea's finest in place of the canceled MSI. After a tournament full of mechanical outplays and some head-scratching throws, the LPL's Top Esports were the final team standing, besting the reigning World champions FunPlus Phoenix 3-1 in the Mid-Season Cup finals.

There's a lot to unpack from 2020's first international tournament, from Korean champs T1 being eliminated in the group stage, to Kang "TheShy" Seung-lok's concerning performances. But here are five of the biggest takeaways from the 2020 Mid-Season Cup.

1. China still reigns supreme

via Riot Games

Korea's reign of dominance over League of Legends ADC guide of Legends esports is long over. Teams from China's LPL have repeatedly bested the Korean representatives not just in this tournament, but in all recent international events. After five straight Korean World champions, the past two Worlds finals saw two Chinese teams in Invictus Gaming and FunPlus Phoenix beat two European teams in Fnatic and G2 Esports, respectively.

The 2020 Mid Season Cup was no different, with Gen.G being the lone LCK team to make it out of the group stage. Many pegged T1, who recently won the 2020 LCK Spring Split, as the favorites to win the tournament. Despite getting off to early leads in their games thanks to some nutty plays from Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok, T1 looked near-clueless at times, losing their advantages and allowing their opponents to come back and win.

DAMWON Gaming showed flashes of brilliance, but their overconfidence and questionable draft choices, such as support Cho "BeryL" Geon-hee playing Karma time and time again despite being near useless on the champion, led to their ultimate downfall.

Meanwhile, JD Gaming, FunPlus Phoenix and Top Esports all showed the world why China is the world's best region with their intelligent draft choices and superior mechanical skills.

2. Top Esports could be the best team in the world

Top Esports was easily the best team this tournament, dropping only two games, both to FPX. Their intelligence and poise, combined with their LPL-style pop-offs went unmatched. Each player on Top Esports carried their weight in their own lanes and the team came together during teamfights to create perfect engages with their near flawless mechanics.

Bai "369" Jia-Hao proved to be the best top laner in the tournament, flexing his expansive champion pool, while support Liang "yuyanjia" Jia-Yuan showed the world his impressive skills on Thresh.

The recent addition of Yu "JackeyLove" Wen-Bo seems to have unlocked something in this team. The upcoming Summer Split will be JackeyLove's first full split with Top Esports, and fans can expect the young bot laner to be one of the main contributors as they compete in the LPL.

3. Knight is currently the best League of Legends champion guide of Legends player in the world

Top Esports mid laner Zhuo "knight" Ding's performance in the Mid-Season Cup was nothing short of brilliant. The twenty-year-old on Corki, despite losing both games on the champion, popped off, even winning teamfights single handedly to turn the tides of the games. Knight was able to get his hands on Syndra twice, before the champion, for all intents and purposes, became a perma-ban for his opposition due to his unrivaled skill on the Dark Sovereign.

The China native played Zoe twice, landing every sleepy trouble bubble imaginable, not dying a single time. He even switched from a carry role to a support-like role, playing Orianna against FPX in the finals, finishing with a KDA (kill/death/assist) of 2/2/13.