It is the sixth and final day of Worlds 2022 Play-In Stage, and two spots at the main event are available for four teams. Royal Never Give Up, DetonatioN FocusMe, Evil Geniuses and MAD Lions managed to come so far and will play a final best of five to decide which two of them get to advance.
After the end of the play-in stage, the qualified teams will get drawn into suitable groups at the main event, and Worlds 2022 action will start properly. Let’s take a look at the best-of-fives played yesterday, and what we will witness tonight.
Elimination matches
MAD Lions, Europe’s #4 who didn’t win a single best-of-five this year, faced Vietnam’s Saigon Buffalo in the first game of the day. I expected close games and a series that could be won by either side, but MAD Lions looked better.
MAD started by putting a lot of pressure on their enemies in the first game, signalling their plans for this series. Vietnamese teams are known for their aggressive play style and never-ending team fights, similar to LPL. MAD decided to use their own strength and defeat Saigon Buffalo in their own game.
SGB answered with Hasmed’s Vayne top on the second game, taking an inhibitor at 17 minutes and finishing the game fairly quickly. However, MAD Lions took the advantage once again after an even faster game, taking it to match point with Elyoya’s 8-1-10 Bel’Veth.
Elyoya’s Bel’Veth popped off a second time in the fourth game, 7-1-10. I must say that Saigon Buffalo should be proud of their performance: all five of them tried really hard and showed a good performance. They definitely deserved to be here, and I wonder what more GAM Esports can do in the main event.
The final series of the day was Brazil’s LOUD against Japan’s DetonatioN FocusMe. Two teams that impressed during the group stage faced each other, and I can safely say that I was impressed with the games overall. We didn’t just see random fights like you would expect from two minor regions, the map movements and team fights were on point, and both worked hard to face RNG in the next round.
DFM started the first game perfectly, but Robo’s insane Olaf performance combined with LOUD’s unbreakable mental brought the Brazilians the first win of the series. However, DFM was not disheartened. Instead of falling, the Japanese decided to play even more aggressive and dominate, winning the next two games in style.
After 2-1, I believe even LOUD was affected by DFM’s unbreakable performance. It wasn’t a very good final game for LOUD, as Yutapon carried his team to victory. The 26-year-old ADC was definitely the man of the match for his side, as DFM moved on to the next round at play-ins.
Worlds 2022 Play-In Stage will end today and we will move on to the group stage this weekend. Make sure to keep track of the competition on Luckbox with live streams and the latest news. Sign up now to claim your 100% bonus before placing your bets.
Qualification Round
It is the final day of the play-ins, and only two out of four teams will be able to make it to Worlds 2022 Main Event. Check out the schedule below:
Tuesday, October 4
Evil Geniuses (2.15) vs MAD Lions (1.62) - 20:00 CEST
After they looked almost doomed, Evil Geniuses managed to make it to second place in their group winning the two tiebreakers. However, that may not have saved them from elimination. They did dodge RNG in a best-of-five, but MAD Lions is a strong opponent for this shaky-looking Evil Geniuses roster.
EG’s luck is that MAD Lions also look dicey at times. jojopyun and Kaori will try to get advantages in their lanes, and a good draft might just get them those. If not, MAD Lions should be able to crush EG with their superior team fighting and map movements.
Wednesday, October 5
Royal Never Give Up (1.01) vs DetonatioN FocusMe (12.00) - 01:00 CEST
I am really impressed with the performance of Japanese DFM over the last few years, but Worlds 2022 is unfortunately over for them. I have had the chance to read the interviews with many players and coaches, and the consensus is that it is very hard for a team outside China and South Korea to challenge them. As a minor region representative, it looks impossible for DetonatioN FocusMe. Better luck next year!
