Lessons learned from Day 4 of the TFT Reckoning World Championship

The TeamFight Tactics Reckoning World Championship wrapped up its four-day event on Monday Oct. 4. There were 20 players across eight regions that participated for a shot at the title of world champion and the $250,000 prize pool. The event produced fantastic moments, close games and unexpected results. Here are the lessons we learned from the third TFT World Championship finals.

China overcomes last season embarrassment, wins TFT Worlds

China has been known in Riot Games titles to have a very large player base. Teamfight Tactics is no exception. Based on their huge player base, China was gifted six spots to last season’s TFT Fates World Championship; the most of any region invited. Despite the six spots, no players from China qualified for the finals. Riot Games took away two spots from them going into the TFT Reckoning season.

Heading into the Day 4 finals, China did a good job of showcasing their skill. Three of their four players made it into the top eight finals. None of the other regions had more than one. But the job wasn’t done there. China outclassed everyone finishing first and second place.

These are the final results of the TFT Reckoning World Championship! pic.twitter.com/lGvVKny7Ze

— Teamfight Tactics (@TFT) October 4, 2021

The champion Huanmie was the only player at Worlds making his second trip. At the Fates Championship, Haunmie finished 11th, only managing to top two of the five lobbies on Day 2. This time around, Huanmie won back-to-back games during the finals to be crowned champion.

China takes home the TFT World Championship for the first time.

Shircane does EU proud despite a down season

Ever since EU won the first TFT World Championship back in the TFT: Galaxies season, they have been at the top of the regional rankings. Heading into the TFT Reckoning Championship, expectations were high as they looked to win their second championship in three seasons. Because of their status, EU has since been at the top, or very close to it, in the number of invites given. With EU having four invites to this season’s World Championship, all eyes were on each of their players, including their play-in participant Shircane.

Shircane showcased brilliant consistency throughout the entirety of the TFT Reckoning World Championship. In the play-in stage, he placed top four in four of the five games on Day 1. In the group stage, he again had four top fours in five games, to make him the top player from Group A and qualify him to the top eight finals.

Despite the finals being in a different format, there were still five games played. But Shircane had some hiccups in the first two games. With an impressive showing in the final three games, he came within one fight of being crowned the world champion.

Shircane was the only EU player in the finals and he was their bottom seed. In a down year for EU TFT, Shircane did the region proud.

Riot’s new spectator client prototype added to the hype finals

Teamfight Tactics is known for its high player base but, when it comes to watching gameplay, it has severely lacked — particularly in spectator client. At the TFT Reckoning World Championships, a prototype version of a spectator client was used that allowed for easy navigation through players’ boards to help create excitement and insight. Although the observer looked inexperienced, the production quality was great and it was a huge step up from previous tournaments. Split camera views and head-to-head players helped engage viewers despite TFT being known for its slower-paced gameplay.

The Day 4 finals checkmate format, which is used to build excitement, delivered in the best way possible. The checkmate format makes sure that the player who wins the final game of the tournament will be crowned the champion. This eliminates the possibility of having a player take a “victory lap” of sorts when a player has simply clinched the tournament before the last game is played. With players needing to hit a points threshold and win a game, Game 5 of the TFT Reckoning World Championships had five players at checkpoint. As Game 5 progressed, it looked like it would be the last. The only players that could keep the tournament going were eliminated early on. But, when it came to predicting who would win, that left spectators and the casters in suspense until the very end.

The final two players standing were China’s Huanmie and EU’s Shircane. With less than 20 HP remaining from the two players, only a couple of fights would be left at maximum. With both players staring down each other’s scary boards, Huanmie was able to take down Shircane’s dual-threat carries of Teemo and Akshan. With his unorthodox eight legionnaire board to win the TFT Reckoning World Finals, he capped off a spectacular tournament.

There are hopes that the spectator client will be officially released in the near future. The possibility for moments like these to exist outside of Worlds may be coming soon. And that would be very good for the future of TFT esports.