Who won League of Legends Worlds in 2011?

The Season 1 League of Legends World Championship, held in 2011 in Jönköping, Sweden during DreamHack, marked a significant milestone in esports history. Fnatic, an established European esports organization, emerged as the champions of the tournament organized by Riot Games. The team roster consisted of:

They entered the championship after winning the regional qualifiers, showcasing their skill and coordination throughout the competition.

At the time, League of Legends popularity was far from what it is now. With only 8 teams participating, three of them were European (Fnatic, against All authorities, gamed!de), three others were from North America (Epik Gamer, Team SoloMid, Counter Logic Gaming), while the two others were from Philippines (Team Pacific) and Singapore (Xan). The game was not very well distributed in Asia and so there was no representative from South Korea nor China. It is important to realize this year's Worlds were only one small tournament amongst other at the DreamHack. Teams were competing for the title of world champion and a total prize pool of $100,000 USD.

The tournament format included a small group stage were the four teams of each groups only faced once and the last of the two groups got directly eliminated. Three teams then got placed in a bracket were they all faced in best of 3. Fnatic struggled during the group stage for their star player Xpeke got his plane delayed and missed the first two matches. They had to improvise and replace their captain on the toplane with Wewillfailer who happened to be in the audience that day.

They eventually ended 3rd in their own group, advancing through the group stage with only one win. With Xpeke's arrival in the playoffs, they showed a totally different shape and defeated all of their opponents such as Counter Logic Gaming (CLG), EPIK Gamer Current Roster (EPIK) and Against All Authority (aAa) twice. Fnatic didn't lose a single best of 3 and secured a 2-1 victory over aAa in the grand final, claiming the title of the first-ever League of Legends World Champions.

It is to mention there was no definite meta at the time and most of the games were won during the laning phase. The teams that got the most winning lanes usually got the game in the end. Fnatic got the upper hand in 2011 by having a very high-skilled roster with a lot of stability. Their midlaner Shushei also got the tournament MVP distinction by playing very versatile AP carry such as Alistar or Gragas which wasn't usual at all back then.

The Season 1 World Championship not only highlighted Fnatic's achievement but also showcased the global appeal of League of Legends as an emerging esports phenomenon. The event drew significant attention from esports enthusiasts worldwide and laid the foundation for future international tournaments.

In 2014, Riot Games decided to launch a unique set of in-game skins to commemorate their achievement, the "Fnatic" skin line, featuring customized appearances for champions used by the team during their victorious run. These skins included Fnatic Corki, Fnatic Gragas, Fnatic Janna, Fnatic Jarvan IV, and Fnatic Karthus, celebrating the team's strategic choices and immortalizing their success in the game.