Free Playoff Pass or Most Predictable Group - Worlds 2022 Pot D Participants Review

The matches of the Worlds 2022 group stage are less than 12 hours away, and we have not met the 4 participants of the event yet. It's time to fix the bugs.

In our series of materials, we have already talked about the representatives of the quartet A, B and C. Analyzing the list of participants in parallel baskets, we came to the conclusion that there is no frankly weak four there. Therefore, this will be group D.

Do not think, it's not about the low level of the teams or the unsuitability of the performers. The main reason why this quartet looks weaker than the others against the general background is the gap in “competitiveness”. It sounds far-fetched, because here are the champions of 2 regions and the international event, but below in the text we will figure out why.

100Thieves

Where they play: North America, LCS

How did you get to the Worlds 2022: 2nd place in the LCS

Worlds 2022 squad: Ssumday, Closer, Abbedagge, FBI, huhi

We open group D with the Americans from 100Thieves. The team made it to the Worlds 2022 thanks to home merits at the LCS.

At the start of the season, Vory took TOP-8 at the LCS Lock-In 2022, after which they rehabilitated at the spring LCS, where they finished 2nd. In America, 3 splits are taking place at once, and therefore we also watched 100Thieves at the summer LCS.

At the last Regional League of the 2022 season, 100Thieves shot in the group, which allowed them to advance to the semi-finals of the playoffs. Expectedly or not, but during the main stage in the American franchise, 100Thieves managed to outrun Liquid and later Evil Geniuses, thereby guaranteeing a place in the Worlds 2022 group stage.

100Thieves is a young organization by the standards of the competitive League of Legends. They received their place in the regional American league, and with it the opportunity to break into the Worlds, in 2018.

Since then, the team has qualified twice for the Worlds series tournament and finished twice at the group stage stage. You can try to improve the result this year, and given that the roster has not changed since the last World Cup, there is a chance for success and would not be ghostly if not for one “but”. Group rivals.

The third hit on the Worlds and the third hit in the quartet with the giants - bad luck, not otherwise. We look forward to repeating the results of the 2018/2021 sample, because there are no structural changes in the 100Thieves game, which means why change performance?

Verdict: 3rd in Group D, not qualifying for the playoffs.

CTBC Flying Oyster

Where they play: Taiwan, PCS

How we got to Worlds 2022: 1st place at PCS Summer 2022

Lineup for Worlds 2022: Rest, Gemini, Mission, Shunn, Koala

We continue the analysis of group B with a review of the CTBC Flying Oyster team. Second in our analysis and first out of the group.

When above we called 100Thieves a young team for the competitive arena of League of Legends , then CTBC Flying Oyster are newborns. Literally.

In the 2022 season, the team first lost the PCS Spring 2022 final against Talon, and later won the PCS Summer 2022 by defeating Beyond Gaming in the final. So CTBC Flying Oyster got a slot at Worlds 2022.

Before this competitive season, the team did nothing. It didn't exist and joined the League of Legends ecosystem in Taiwan after purchasing a franchised league slot formerly owned by Hong Kong Attitude.

We could fantasize about the top roster of CTBC Flying Oyster. You know how it often happens: a new player appears on the arena, gathered veterans of the scene and promising newcomers under his wing and started to beat everyone, but CTBC Flying Oyster is not the case.

Those that can be noted are Gemini and Mission, who once played for Hong Kong Attitude and Team Mansion and were previously in the Worlds series tournaments. Will the seasoned players from PCS be able to lead a fresh team to the playoffs? No, not this year.

Verdict: 4th place in Group D, not qualifying for the playoffs.

Gen.G Esports

Where they play: South Korea, LCK

How did you get to Worlds 2022: 1st place at LCK Summer 2022

Lineup for Worlds 2022: Doran, Peanut, Chovy, Ruler, Lehends

From the rookie Worlds and the competitive League of Legends in general, we move on to the mastodons of the discipline. They open the list of “olds” in group D Gen.G Esports.

The club, by the way, has been in the competitive arena since 2018, like 100Thieves, but the context is important here. This club is South Korean and won the home league last season.

As we have already found out, the championship in the regional league in LoL is the ultimate dream for many teams. Triumph in South Korea - even more so.

For Gen.G, the victory at LCK Summer 2022 was the first participation in the franchise league in 4 years. However, this did not prevent the club from qualifying for the Worlds series championships earlier. The Gen.G tag played at Worlds 2018, Worlds 2020 and Worlds 2021. It is noteworthy that each tournament was better for the South Korean club than the previous one: in 2018 it was TOP-16, in 2020 it turned into TOP-8, and at the previous Gen. G entered the TOP-4.

Given the geometric progression in performance, can we assume that the team will reach the final in this draw? There is no talk of a possible departure from the group if there are such performers as Chovy, Ruler and Peanut in the line-up, and therefore you need to aim higher, much higher than the TOP-4.

Verdict: Exit from Group D to the playoffs in 1st place.

Royal Never Give Up

Where they play: China, LPL

How did you get to Worlds 2022 Group Stage: 1st place at Play-In Round 2

Line-up for Worlds 2022: Breathe, Wei, Xiaohu, GALA, Ming

The last group D got RNG. Naturally, this happened for objective reasons, namely because of the Play-In stage.

Of the entire quartet, Royal Never Give Up look more profitable on this Worlds, as they already had experience playing at a particular world championship. However, even without him, the team perfectly understands what to do, because without it they would not have won the Mid-Season Invitational in the 2022 season.

The victory of the current roster at MSI 2022, and before that at LPL Summer 2022, elevated RNG to the status of one of the main contenders for the Summoner's Cup, which is logical. Royal Never Give Up is a titular club with a decent length of service that previously qualified for the later stages of the Worlds (TOP-4 in 2017, TOP-8 in 2018 and 2019).

The fact that the team will easily overcome the group stage is a fact. The only team in the game against which the RNG can have problems is Gen.G. Using the example of Play-In, we saw that the Chinese five have a hard time playing matches with representatives of the LCK.

The passage to the playoffs is guaranteed, but the further fate of RNG is vague. The 2022 season actually repeats the 2021 draw, when RNG also won the LPL, then closed the Mid-Season Invitational and then failed the subsequent split and Worlds. We have a similar situation here, even a little worse - in 2021 RNG took the regional finals of China, and this year they finished second.

Let's see if doubts about RNG will be dispelled in the Worlds 2022 playoffs. They will go there without a shadow of a doubt.

Verdict: advance to the playoffs, out of the group in 2nd place.

Quartet D will begin on October 8 at 01:00 CET. The outsiders of the CTBC quartet Flying Oyster will be the first to start the battles in the match against 100Thieves.

The 2022 World Championship runs from September 29 to November 5 in Mexico and the United States. The Play-In stage will take place from September 29 to October 4 at the Arena Esports Stadium in Mexico City, and the group stage will take place from October 7-10 and October 13-16 at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. As part of the championship, 24 teams from all over the world are fighting for a total prize pool of $2,225,000.