JD Gaming is the lone LPL representative left
LCK Teams Dominate Worlds Quarterfinals
The Worlds 2022 Quarterfinals saw an impressive showing by the LCK representatives as T1, DRX and Gen.G won three of the four quarterfinals, with JD Gaming standing as the last LPL hope after defeating Rogue.
After the top 8 teams of Worlds made it past the groups - although not without a bit of controversy surrounding Top Esports' clutch loss to GAM - it was time to duke it out in the playoffs with a best of five format. After a poor week 2, the LEC sent only one team to the direct elimination stage as Rogue eked out a second place in their group. The remaining seven teams were from the Asian powerhouses - the LCK and LPL. Let's go back and see how the games played out:
JD Gaming 3-0 Rogue
Rogue fell behind in the second week of groups, and with JD Gaming beating DRX in exciting tiebreaker and coming in as LPL champions, few people had high hopes for the LEC representatives. Rogue had a good start in the opening game, but as it went on JDG's better vision, top lane advantage and good teamfighting secured them the win. The Chinese team did even better in the second game where they had an early lead and did not allow Rogue's scaling composition to pick up steam. It wasn't until the third game that Rogue truly showed what their fans had hoped to see with a very strong start, but as the game went on JDG stated dictating the pace and despite some hero plays by Emil "Larssen" Larsson the LPL team secured its place in the semifinals.
T1 3-0 Royal Never Give Up
After their five-game slugfest at the MSI finals we were hyped to see T1 and RNG go at each other. The first game was firmly in T1's control and a desperate RNG engage only served to seal the deal. The Chinese team came back looking better after the break and dominated the second game until the 30-minute mark, but T1 was ale to secure a Baron and delay the game until the decisive fight near the Elder Dragon which netted them the win. Sadly for LPL (and reverse sweep) fans, RNG was not able to recover and after the somewhat even opening minutes of game 3 quickly fell behind, bowing out of Worlds after an 0-3 loss to a very scary T1.
Gen.G 3-2 DWG KIA
Saturday gave us a LCK on LCK showdown and in the good traditions of Worlds playoffs past, it delivered. Gen.G scored the first blood in the series after an opening game that was close early but went their way off several clutch mid-game fights. DWG KIA looked better in the second bout, but despite some great play by Heo "ShowMaker" Su Gen.G fought their way back and clinched the win. Now the LPL champions were on match point, however, it was time for them to sweat as Damwon took the third game off an amazing Showmaker performance on Swain and then monstered through the fourth one after an amazing Aphelios ult. The decisive fifth game was hotly contested, with Damwon having a poor start but fighting back, but in the end a heroic teamfight by Gen.G won them the game and the series.
DRX 3-2 EDward Gaming
The last quarterfinal featured LCK fourth seed DRX take on LPL runners-up EDward Gaming. EDG mid llaner Lee "Scout" Ye-chan carried his team to a confident win in the first game, before the next game left everyone on the edge of their seats with a nerve-wracking almost-ending where Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu was one attack away from the victory as the inhibitor respawned and EDG's counterattack saw them get the 2-0. Deft had his revenge, however, busting out a great Draven performance that was key to DRX's first win. The LCK representatives prevailed in a very contested game 4 to get to Silver Scrapes. In the decisive game, mid laner Kim "Zeka" Geon-woo delivered a standout performance with multiple 1v1 kills and great teamfighting and lead DRX to a dramatic reverse sweep.
Read More about Worlds 2022
- LoL Worlds 2022 Knockout Stage: Teams, Schedule & Live-Stream
- The Ups and Downs of the Worlds Groups Stage
- Jankos Announces Departure from G2 Esports
The Worlds Semifinals will take place this weekend with JDG taking on T1 in the first series, starting from 11 PM CEST on Saturday, October 29th. Don't miss it!