The League of Legends Worlds 2022 Play-Ins Stage today bore witness to two remarkable results over the course of the two Qualification Round series it played host to. LCS side Evil Geniuses swiftly dispatched the LEC’s MAD Lions, while LJL representative DetonatioN FocusMe managed to wound the LPL’s Royal Never Give Up despite the tie ending in its defeat. As such, the Worlds 2022 Group Stage teams are now fully locked in.
Kicking off the day was MAD vs EG. Following days of friendly flaming back-and-forth in the press, the stage was set for a good old fashioned EU vs NA grudge match. While the majority expected the LEC side – which featured four members of the Summer Split’s All-Pro first team – to come out on top, what actually transpired couldn’t be more different.
Over the course of three brutal games – which MAD only managed a collective total of 16 kills in – EG dismantled its opponent, marking the first time NA has beaten EU in a Riot-sanctioned best-of-five. In fact, the last time NA beat EU in an official best-of-five was all the way back at IEM San Jose in 2014, when Cloud9 3-0’d Unicorns of Love.
EG wasn’t the only history-maker today, as DFM managed a feat no LJL side had done before: winning a game against a major region in a best-of-five. In the first of four games, DFM was challenged by RNG’s pick-focus comp. And picked wrong the LPL’s own did, as after a near-37-minute contest DFM emerged victorious.
However, one does not wound a tiger and expect it to not fight back. Unfortunately for DFM, RNG remembered that it is the reigning Mid-Season Invitational champion, and 1-0 eventually became 3-1 in RNG’s favour as the Chinese side grew into the series.
With EG and RNG joining the already-qualified DRX and Fnatic, here are the League of Legends Worlds 2022 Group Stage teams:
Group A
- Cloud9
- T1
- EDward Gaming
- Fnatic
Group B
- JDG
- G2 Esports
- DWG KIA
- Evil Geniuses
Group C
- Rogue
- Top Esports
- Gigabyte Marines
- DRX
Group D
- Gen.G
- CTBC Flying Oyster
- 100 Thieves
- Royal Never Give Up
Worlds will now head over to New York where the Group Stage will kick off on October 7, giving you just enough time to get a few extra LoL ranked games in.