This League of Legends Worlds 2022 coverage is brought to you by EsportsBet.IO, the official betting partner of Dot Esports. Visit EsportsBet.IO for the best betting odds and in-depth match analytics.
Be gamble aware!
A fire has reignited for the LCK at the 2022 League of Legends World Championship. The winless day yesterday for the three teams representing the region acted as fuel for their desire to bring more accolades home—and today, that fire burned bright.
To round out the third day of the group stage, DRX, the third seed of the LCK that fought their way up from play-ins, exceeded any and all expectations through their decimation of the LPL’s second seed, Top Esports.
As soon as the draft phase began, DRX appeared to have crafted a strategy that would earn them a lopsided victory—seemingly getting revenge for RNG’s dominant victory over the LCK champions Gen.G a few days prior.
Complete control of the map
TES’ near insta-lock of Draven for Jackeylove in the first round of the draft phase showed their commitment to the ADC as their win condition. Complete with a Nautilus and Vi at his side, DRX had to prepare themselves for heavy focusing from their opponents from the LPL on the bot side of the map—forcing DRX to institute some mind games.
After meeting Tian in the jungle a few times in the early game, Psyosik shifted his attention to the top side of the map for some gold in the hands of Kingen, despite knowing this would lead the TES jungle to collapse on the DRX bot lane.
But this appeared to be exactly what DRX wanted.
Knowing Tian was on his way down the Rift, DRX’s mid laner Zeka rotated as well, catching the opposition before they could earn more than one kill and leading his team to pressure Jackeylove into a large deficit.
In doing so, DRX completely silenced the LPL-favored crowd in the Hulu Theater—stagnating cheers filling the arena as DRX continued to cement a massive lead.
TES’ last resort was to initiate fights themselves. Yet, their all-in composition backfired immensely as Zeka’s Sylas stole valuable ultimates for himself, not only refusing to allow the enemy team to overlook him but proving to the world that he deserves to be part of conversations regarding dominant LCK mid laners.
The LPL’s second seed could only earn two kills in this entire game, one at the beginning and one at the very end, before DRX laid waste to their nexus. Multiple DRX fans in the audience were moved to tears as they witnessed the LCK underdogs emerge victorious from what many believed to be a clear win for TES.
Toppling the giants
Heading into the play-ins stage, fans were uncertain as to how DRX—the fourth seed of the LCK—would perform with the massive disparities in experience among the members of their team. DRX had not taken part in last year’s Worlds following the departure of Chovy and Keria, leading to instability within the team that was only answered with further roster changes this year.
Yet it was that uncertainty from fans and players alike that fed the momentum of DRX, allowing them to run through the competition of play-ins undefeated and bypass the qualification and elimination rounds completely.
Now, by successfully predicting TES’ game-winning strategy within the first few minutes of the game, DRX has secured their biggest win of Worlds thus far and advanced in their group to tie the team they just defeated.
Tomorrow DRX will face GAM Esports to close the first half of the Worlds 2022 group stage, inching closer to the possibility of quarterfinals qualification.
If DRX can bring this aggressive early style—one uncharacteristic of the LCK—into their next matches, there will no longer be any reason to doubt their capabilities.
