Worlds 2022 wrapped up yesterday evening with the LCK’s DRX winning an incredible five-game series. With the last major international LoL tournament of the year in the books, today we are looking back at Worlds 2022. And our focus is on just how the major regions performed throughout the tournament.
NA and MAD Lions fans, you might want to look away now….
LCS – NA
For the LCS three representatives, this Worlds 2022 came with a home town crowd. The three seeds of Evil Geniuses, 100 Thieves and Cloud9 all came into Worlds 2022 ready to do the NA crowd proud and they were somewhat successful. Evil Geniuses secured the highest position for NA, reaching eleventh place. While 100 Thieves claimed thirteenth place and Cloud9 claimed fifteenth.
Evil Geniuses at Worlds 2022 Image via LCS Twitter
This was by far not the worse showing for the teams but fans had hoped Worlds being on home turf would give these teams an edge. And for a while it did, with all three teams securing at least one win in the group stage, but were also all eliminated via the group stage.
LCS win/loss record in group stage is listed below. And it’s not a pretty picture.
LCS wins against other major regions
EG100TCloud9LEC1-1 (G2 Esports)n/a1-1 (FNC)LPL0-2 (JDG)0-2 (RNG)0-2 (EDG)LCK0-2 (DWG KIA )0-2 (GEN.G)0-2 (T1)
LEC – EU
The LEC sent three of the strongest teams, including two of the most notorious kings of Europe and the two rising teams to Worlds 2022 in pursuit of the tournament title for the European region. Although the MAD Lions did not make it out of the play-ins, after losing a final best of five to Evil Geniuses, FNATIC, G2 Esports, and Rogue all participated in the group stage.
Rogue at Worlds 2022 Image via LEC Twitter
It’s crushing to bomb out of another Worlds is for MAD’s fans. And it was surprising to see G2’s lack of strength against the the LCK and LPL. But LEC had both Rogue and FNATIC show up against the LCK. This wasn’t Europe’s best year at Worlds, but for the new kings of Europe in Rogue, this was the start of a variety of EU talent climbing the international ranks, and not just G2 for a change.
LEC win/loss record in group stage:
LEC wins against other major regions
FNATICG2 EsportsRogueMAD LionsLCS1-11-1n/an/aLPL0-20-21-1n/aLCK1-10-21-1n/a
LPLLCKMAD Lions play ins (3-2)0-10-1
MAD Lions lost 0-3 to EG for qualifying for group stage from play ins.
LCSFNATIC play ins (4-1)1-0
FNATIC qualified for the group stage.
LPL – China
Always thought of as one of the strongest regions internationally, no one was surprised to see the Chinese teams fly over to NA and make a big splash, putting their mark on Worlds 2022. EDG (Worlds 2021 winner), JDG (winner of summer 2022), TOP Esports (second seed) and Royal Never Give Up(MSI 2022 winners), were all expected to dominate and show the power that we have come to expect from Eastern teams.
JDG at press conference Image via LPL_fanclub on Twitter
It is safe to say they lived up to expectation for much of the tournament. Although no LPL representative made it to the Worlds 2022 final, a disappointing (and somewhat surprising) result for fans of the region, the LPL did well generally. Though more was expected from the second seed of TOP Esports who were one of many teams affected by in game bugs.
LPL win/loss record in group stage
LPL wins against other major regions
Edward GamingJDGTOP EsportsRNGLCS2-02-01-12-0LEC2-02-01-1n/aLCK0-21-11-11-1
LECLCKRNG play ins (4-1)1-00-1
LCK – South Korea
So frequently viewed as the runner up at Worlds’ tournaments, the LCK flew in with only one goal – to show that the DWG KIA’s 2020 win would be repeated. And repeated it was, as the LCK scooped the Worlds 2022 title for themselves, just two years after their most recent win.
T1 and DRX ahead of World finals Image via LCK Twitter
As one of the strongest international regions, and notorious for the strength of the teams coming from the East, it was expected that the LCK would go far in Worlds. The play-ins stage was a breeze for DRX (who are now our world champions) while T1 and DWG KIA made light work of the other regions, showing once again that the LCK should not be overlooked.
For fans of the LCK, the crushing defeat of DWG KIA during the 2021 season was heart-breaking, so to see the LCK’s former glory coming back stronger than ever (even if not directly from DWG KIA) was exactly what Worlds 2022 was all about.
LCK win/loss record in group stage
LCK wins against other major regions
T1DWG KIADRXGEN.GLCS2-02-0n/a2-0LEC1-12-01-1n/aLPL2-01-11-11-1
LECLPLDRX play ins (5-0)1-0 1-0
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