Photo: LoL Esports
The suspense did not last very long and the teams of the LEC knew very quickly during the season that the region would receive an additional slot for Worlds the end of the year. The reason is as simple as it was predictable: the situation in Ukraine has still not calmed down. In this context, the LCL (Russian league) did not resume and its slot was offered to the 3rd best region in the world: Europe.
If having 4 teams has become a habit for the two Asian giants that are the China and the South Korea, it is not so common for us. It’s only the 2nd time it happens, and looking back, it wasn’t particularly fruitful the last time…
A team eliminated from the Play-In phase
The Worlds 2020 left a bitter memory MAD Lions. The team tasted its first worlds, but it did not really have the opportunity to enjoy its tournament. 4th seed of the LEC, the formation had begun its adventure in Play-In… Faced with “small” teams, it lost its footing, weighed down by very tired players. Without overwhelming the roster of the time, where there was already Kaiser, we can still speak of real humiliation. The Lions had been taken out by SuperMassive, a Turkish team during a hotly contested Bo5 (2-3). This is the first time that a so-called minor region has beaten a so-called major region in this format. It is also the only time that a representative of the Big Four (LPL, LCK, LEC and LCS) failed to qualify for the Main Event since the preliminary phase.
In 2022, a large region could well experience a similar fate. While there are only 4 qualifying spots for the main draw, there will be 1 Chinese team, 1 Korean team, 2 European teams and 1 American team in the Play-In. No need for a calculator, there will inevitably be disappointed while we must also count on the Vietnamese and the PCS league.
2 teams qualified for the playoffs
In 2020, 2 European teams had managed to see the playoffs of the Main Event. At the time, the performance was not particularly spectacular, but in 2022, we would sign without hesitation now to place two representatives in the top 8 ! G2 (4-2) and Fnatic (4-2) had done well in groups that weren’t particularly easy. On the other hand, Rogue had completely sunk by finishing last in their pool with a tiny 1-5.
Since then, South Korea has recovered and China seems ever stronger. We would therefore not spit at the idea of seeing two LEC teams reach the playoffs. To be completely transparent, given the level of competition, no European team seems able to go much further.
1 team in the last four
In 2020, G2 had managed to slip into the semi-finals by crushing on his way Gen.G (3-0). fnatic for his part had fallen against Top Esport after a breathless match (2-3). These two Asian giants have already confirmed their place for Worlds 2022 and look even more impressive than before, with monsters like Chovy Where Tian in their rank.
A place in the last four seems almost unexpected this year. But on a misunderstanding or on a favorable draw, we can perhaps dream… But for the moment, we are not particularly optimistic.
esport-lol
The Blue Wall holds its breath and eagerly awaits good news. However, the latter is slow to come and we still do not know if the Karmine Corp will find a way to integrate the European elite of League of Legends. An NA structure would even have gotten ahead of KC…