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Worlds 2022 Main Event: A Post-Groups Summary

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Worlds 2022 Main Event: A Post-Groups Summary

The Main Event that kicked off in New York comprised of two thrilling weeks of action-packed professional match-ups for the group stage. 

Pro teams competed with each other for the two spots in each respective group to see who would enter kick-offs next week. History-making clutch plays, intense 1v1s, and decisive teamfights all contributed to two epic weeks for Worlds. With spectacular moments among giant teams like DRX, JD Gaming, and T1 rocking the Worlds stage, here is our post-groups summary detailing all of the important stuff that went down, as well as what you can expect once the tournament comes in full swing for Quarterfinals on October 20.

The tournament structure for League of Legends' greatest e-sports event consists of a seeding competition among 12 teams for Worlds 2022's Play-ins. The top 2 teams among them would then enter the Groups stage, where 12 new competitors would be introduced. For the past two weeks, these world-class players were split into 4 groups and faced off against every other team in their group twice. 

Day 1

Day 1 of the Group Stage had a rough start for North American teams across the roster.

Fnatic won the first game over Cloud9 with better teamfight composition and patient plays. After capturing early game objectives, they utilized their twin tank comp to scatter enemy ADCs with mountain soul and baron buffs. The familiar match-up between G2 Esports and DWG Kia, later on, felt decided after a very early ace by the LCK representatives. And despite their strong attempts to score picks around the map, Damwon’s base was totaled after a second Baron siege. 

Afterwards, we saw CFO bag their very first win at Worlds when they turned the game around on 100 Thieves after a Baron team contest resulted in 4 players down from 100T. The fourth matchup between JD Gaming and Evil Geniuses started with both teams trading picks and the latter successfully winning Soul point, but ended with a tough defeat by the hands of China’s 1st seed.

The game that had fans of the game roaring was the insane bout between T1 and the last year’s champions Edward Gaming Hycan. Very calculated lane plays were seen from both camps until EDG’s overenthusiastic plays were punished by Zeus and Faker, which led to the LCK taking Nexus with a couple of lucky minions.

The first day for Group Stage wrapped up with RNG winning the last game of the day against Gen.G. RNG Wei put the pressure on all of the lanes and bolstered his team’s superior teamplay until a Soul Point helped them compensate for their enemy’s underutilized gold lead.

Day 2

The second day’s lineups felt the pressure mounting when their turn was on the New York Worlds stage. The day gave way to vengeful playmaking that turned games around, and an underdog that humbled one of the top teams in Worlds 2022.

Rogue Esports found the first victory against LCK’s DRX, all thanks to Larssen and Malrang’s plays in the side lanes that bolstered group synergy when RGE needed it the most. Onto game 2, we saw a confident win by G2E against Evil Geniuses when they opted for a champion composition that they knew best. Their slow but steady gameplay was supported by their Nidalee jungler, who aggressively invaded enemy lanes.

T1 once again gave the cheering crowd the game of the day, but instead found themselves on the losing side against the LEC. Fnatic’s hard-won battle against T1 was unprecedented, with many variables pointing to a probable loss. Add Faker’s dangerous Akali flex pick on top of that, and you had little chance to find a win. But Upset’s brilliant playmaking carried FNC throughout the game, and secured objectives until they eventually rolled through T1’s base.

 EDG’s landslide win against Cloud9 was a brutal display of dominance. With a 15-4 final score, the reigning champ made it known that they were here to win. GAM’s returning match for Worlds after 3 years gave them a whiplash as Top Esports absolutely destroyed the VCS representatives with the Yuumi pick. Giving us the closing game for Day 2, DK and JDG took the stage for one of the most back-and-forth games we’ve ever seen in a Worlds game. LCK vs LPL constantly played it safe and took back the momentum when it was taken from them until ShowMaker tipped the scales in JDG’s favor indefinitely. 

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Day 3

The early game advantage was all it took for RGE to win against GAM in the first match for Day 3.  Through stolen Baron buffs and a Hextech Soul that gave them an extra push, RGE went on with yet another victory. The second match saw 100 Thieves and Gen.G focus on their own sidelanes to get big players from either side fed slowly. The bottom side takers found more objective kills as decisive clashes gave GEN every major buff to win the game. 

Fnatic’s late invade during the early game decided the match when they gave up two kills to EDG. Messy teamfights and uneven trade-offs gave FNC their first loss in Groups. Faker’s 100th Worlds win came out of T1’s match against C9. In another show of deadly vengeance, all 3 of the NA team’s inhibitors were down within the first 23 minutes. Afterwards, Gumayusi scored a quadrakill when the minions just mercy-killed Cloud9’s Nexus before it became a penta. Not a good week for the LCS.

The fifth game to come out of Day 3 was given to RNG. CFO’s overcommit for the game’s first drake gave up too many kills. And from then on, they started to lose badly against RNG’s powerful 4k gold lead. Finally, Day 3 closed with DRX vs TES. Strong engagements were seen in the bottom lane between JackeyLove’s Draven and Deft’s Caitlyn before DRX’s successful ganks forced the opposition to play slower. Top Esports eventually handed the enemy a 7k gold lead, and were crushed by DRX’s Baron-buffed assault.

Day 4

The LPL defended their winning streak in their first match-up against G2 Esports. The whole of JDG focused on getting Hope’s Sivir fed ASAP, which paid dividends in the late game. Next, Rouge fought TES for the second win of the day. Malrang proved indispensable during the second Baron take which forced the rest of TES to play late-game defense until they lost. 

DWG Kia vs Evil Geniuses went tit-for-tat early on, but DK took advantage of their enemy’s passive playstyle until their objective lead let them push all the way down mid. LPL fans also rejoiced when RNG got a win over 100T. After a disastrous Mountain Soul contest that had 4 losses suffered by the NA team, it was a matter of time before their enemy crushed their tier three towers after taking Baron. Aggressive team comps from both sides still saw GEN win against CFO, with Doran’s Sejuani gameplay getting a special mention. Day 4 concluded with DRX’ Deft and Zeka dominating early in a match against GAM in the fastest win of the day.

Day 5

With the top 4 teams left for each group, it was time to see who would win the top 2 spots that proceed to Quarterfinals. Day 5 was reserved for Group A, who faced off against each team. C9 broke their Groups losing streak versus Fnatic in a forceful first game. But that was only the start of FNC’s woes as the unkillable demon king of T1 was hungry for revenge. The second game was a courageous rematch between T1 and Fnatic, and while hopes were high for the EU team, a second win against the Worlds giant just wasn’t in the cards. 

Match 3 was an absolute slaughter as last year’s champions pumped up their aggressive tactics against the LCS reps from C9. Edward Gaming kept the momentum from their last match going and won another landslide victory against Fnatic. In just an hour’s worth of matches, EDG ruthlessly eliminated 2 regional teams from Worlds 2022.

Game 5 saw T1 grab a victorious 16-8 score win against Cloud9 despite fast plays from the LCS reps, and the very last game had the two powerhouses of Group A clash for first seed. We saw both teams dish out flawless Thresh hooks, smart objective plays, and legendary zone controls as they fought for supremacy, but T1 eventually emerged victors following historical precedent.

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Day 6

Teams within Group B duked it out for the top two spots on the 6th day of the Worlds 2022 Main Stage. LCS reps scored the first win of the day as EG pulled an easy snowball against G2E. In game 2, EG suffered a second loss against JD Gaming after they lost control of their base. G2E was also humbled in the next match against Damwon, who secured all of the drakes, a baron, and a 10k gold lead toward the 23-minute mark. 

After the dust settled, the LEC reps fought their last fight against the DWG Kia. Regarded as the “boss” of Group B, JDG had a lot to prove with the 4th match-up against G2E. This was a close match that could’ve gone either way, but eventually fell on JDG’s lap. Afterward, EG’s battle against DK was a well-fought struggle that ended in Damwon’s favor, and removed the fan favorites from the Main Stage with a single win under their belt. The next duel between JDG and DK resulted in a very crucial tiebreaker match that determined JDG as Group B’s first seed.

Day 7

RGE started their day off with a triumphant win against GAM with better team composition, but the VCS found a strong comeback in Game 2 against TES when they saved their own nexus from the brink. A Heimerdinger vs Nasus support gave fans quite a show when DRX faced off against RGE. The LCK reps eventually won by a big kill lead, which they also pulled off in Game 4 against GAM.

Entertaining drafts made an appearance in Top Esports vs RGE, where JackeyLove used their Baron and Soul point advantage to end TES’ Worlds run in spectacular fashion. TES didn’t let DRX escape the tiebreaker match as they scored a win in the last regularly scheduled game of Day 7. In the final game for Group C, DRX lost to Rogue's insurmountable lead from successful team engagements, making RGE first seed.

Day 8

The final day for Groups gave us the final 2 teams destined for the Quarterfinals bo5. 100 Thieves stole their first victory in Worlds against CFO by a large margin, while Gen.G turned successful ganks and clashes against CTBC Flying Oyster into getting Soul Point, the Baron, and the 2nd win in Group D. 100T held their own at the start of the 3rd game against RNG, but a win just wasn’t possible against Xiaohu’s Akali and the Yuumi/Sivir combo. 

The 4th match had Gen.G go full-throttle against 100T, totaling the NA’s base with a 15k gold advantage. CFO’s final game in Worlds was opposite RNG, and got utterly defeated by the LPL despite getting the first few kills. RNG moved on to face the LCK reps who forced a tiebreaker when the Korean team won the race to see who could push their sidelane lead the fastest. The rematch was a victory for GEN, cementing them as the Top 1 team in Group D.

What's next?

With the best-of-one game series finally reaching its end, the final 8 teams that victoriously placed at the top 2 for groups A to D are now set to continue on to the Knockout stage. Here, eight contenders are scheduled to perform in best-of-five (or bo5) single-elimination matches until only two teams remain. The final winner of the last bo5 team series will win the title of 2022’s Worlds champion.

Catch the continuation of Riot's largest esports event and more on ESTNN.

Worlds 2022 Main Event: A Post-Groups Summary
Paul Goño
Paul started writing for ESTNN in 2022, the same year he beat his first Souls game. An avid fan of RPGs, his all-time favorites include Baldur's Gate 3, Assassin’s Creed and Kingdom Hearts 2. Besides being a professional nerd, he still struggles to get over the broken PS2 memory card that stored years of his save files.