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League of Legends World Championship Finals live: FPX defeat G2 as home favourites flounder

Anthony Cuthbertson
AccorHotels Arena, Paris
Sunday 10 November 2019 17:07 GMT
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The League of Legends World Championship finals took place at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris.
The League of Legends World Championship finals took place at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris.

China's FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) have won the finals of the 2019 League of Legends World Championship, achieving victory over home favourites G2 ESports (G2) in what many claim to be the pinnacle of eSports.

Nearly 100 million people around the world tuned in for the 2018 finals and this year's event may go on to smash that figure when viewing figures across all streaming platforms are tallied up.

Billed as Europe vs. Asia, G2 were hoping to become the first Western team to lift the Summoner’s Cup in eight years.

But after a spectacular opening ceremony that featured augmented reality hip-hop collective True Damage, FPX dominated their rivals with a clean sweep of victories to win the match 3-0.

The Independent was at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris to cover the event.

Please wait for the live blog to load.

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Welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the 2019 League of Legends World Championship finals. We're at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris to bring you all the latest from what has been dubbed the biggest event in the history of eSports.

After months of intense clashes, 24 teams have been whittled down to just two: G2 Esports (G2) and FunPlus Phoenix (FPX).

G2 are the clear home favourites and if they win they will become the first European team to lift the Summoner's Cup in eight years.

anthony.cuthbertson10 November 2019 10:59
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There's less than 30 minutes to go until the pre-show starts, which will come in the form of the virtual hip-hop collective True Damage.

It includes League of Legends’ characters Qianna, Akali, Senna, Ekko, and Yasuo.

League of Legends developer Riot Games claim Akali came up with the group after she was “given creative control by her label to start her own hip hop record imprint”.

anthony.cuthbertson10 November 2019 11:09
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anthony.cuthbertson10 November 2019 11:11
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Perennial trash talker Kim ‘Doinb’ Tae-sang from FPX (left) was downplaying G2's chances of victory on Friday, claiming the European team were only in the finals because of the luck of the draw.

“If they’d met us in the quarter finals or semi finals, they would not be in the finals,” he said.

anthony.cuthbertson10 November 2019 11:45
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Less than 10 minutes to go now until the opening ceremony.

If you want to watch along, there are plenty of live streams to choose from .

A live stream is also being hosted on YouTube.

anthony.cuthbertson10 November 2019 11:53
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The AccorHotels Arena is full-to-capacity, with cheers going around the stands for home favourites G2. 

The home support are calling for a 3-0 obliteration of FPX.

anthony.cuthbertson10 November 2019 12:00
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"This G2 team was not built to win, it was built to conquer," proclaims G2's Caps in a video played across the big screens.

With 10 minutes to go until the finals get underway, it's now or never for the European team. 

anthony.cuthbertson10 November 2019 12:22
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"The French crowd is our 6th man today"

anthony.cuthbertson10 November 2019 12:25
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The teams have take their seats on stage, with the five players from each team separated by what they're playing for: The Summoner's Cup.

anthony.cuthbertson10 November 2019 12:33
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The start has been delayed due to a technical problem. The players don't seem too anxious about the added build-up though. Doinb just yawned.

anthony.cuthbertson10 November 2019 12:45

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