Invictus Gaming took down the reigning LPL champions FunPlus Phoenix during the 2020 Regional Finals in a close five-game series. While FPX got the momentum early on in the series, IG turned it around towards the end, securing the fifth game win decisively.
Mid laner Rookie was the most consistent player of the League of Legends series, playing with Neeko three times and Zoe twice. He maintained a good scoreline even in the games IG lost and always looked for plays to come back into the game. Even though he was not successful in each game, his efforts were rewarded by winning the series in the end.
The series was hyped up as two former world champions would collide and only one would be able to have another shot at qualifying for this year’s international stage. No one was sure about which team would come on top following their shaky performances this split.
FPX took the reins in the first game with a dominating performance, securing an early game gold lead and then maintaining it throughout the entire game, reaching more than 12,000 gold.
In the next games, FPX and IG swapped their roles with one team taking the dominant position. After reaching match point after the third game win, FPX failed to maintain their position and lost the following two games.
TheShy popped off in the last game of the series, taking down multiple FPX members every time his ultimate was up. He managed to allow IG to take the edge in the mid-game after the game was a stalemate for over 20 minutes. IG maintained the tempo and finished the series on a high note, however they couldn’t earn a World Championship appearance this year.
During a recent livestream, clipped by Korizon Esports translator Kevin Kim and translated by Twitter user iCrystalization, West revealed that “the Eternal God” almost signed with IG before the start of the season, before deciding to retire instead. This would have set him up alongside legendary stars like top laner TheShy and mid laner Rookie.
A power trio of Uzi, TheShy, and Rookie could have been enough to bring home the LPL championship once more for IG. That roster could have even challenged the best teams in League at this year’s World Championship and beyond. But now, fans can only dream about what that star-studded roster could have accomplished together.
Uzi announced his retirement at the start of June after suffering from several health issues throughout his impressive career. The veteran dealt with arm, shoulder, and leg pain due to the long practice hours and he had chronic stress and obesity issues. During an interview with Nike, he even said that a doctor compared his arms to a 40 or 50-year-old.