In the history of the League of Legends World Championships (Worlds), only one team from the West, Fnatic, has claimed the championship title. In fact, back in 2011, Korean or Chinese representatives were not even present. Since that first time, there have been ten additional Worlds held, and no other Western League of Legends representative has managed to win this prestigious title.
The most recent Worlds champion is a representative from the LPL – EDward Gaming.
With the 2022 Worlds approaching, do Western representatives have a chance to compete against strong regions like LCK and LPL? Let’s find out.
LCK and LPL Remain Overwhelmingly Strong
This past weekend, we learned that Gen.G is the champion of the LCK Summer 2022 after a convincing 3-0 victory over T1. It’s important to remember that Gen.G’s performances in international tournaments in recent years have been rather lackluster, leaving viewers somewhat disappointed. However, with this recent championship, it can be confidently stated that Gen.G is an extremely strong team. We also cannot forget T1, which boasts an incredibly talented lineup led by Faker.
What about the LPL? Has the strength of this league diminished at all? The answer is clearly no, as there are too many strong teams in the LPL ready to compete for the championship. Just the fact that the reigning world champions – EDward Gaming – had to secure a spot at Worlds 2022 through the regional qualifier shows us how ruthless the LPL is. With the growth of both JDG and TES, the LPL remains an incredibly formidable force heading into Worlds 2022.
Western Representatives Are Weakening
When mentioning the hopes of Western League of Legends, we cannot overlook the name G2 Esports. However, in 2022, G2 Esports no longer gives fans the feeling of being a true contender as they did three years ago. They still have Jankos and Caps on the roster, but the other players in G2 seem to lack experience, leading the team to suffer some “silly” losses. Meanwhile, other representatives from the LEC like Rogue and MAD are too unstable and even weaker than G2.
Perhaps playing in the LEC, this may not be an issue, but when facing strong representatives from the LPL and LCK, G2 Esports is likely to crumble right from the early stages of the game. They have shown they can fall into this situation at the recent MSI 2022, making it extremely difficult for G2 to progress deep in the upcoming Worlds.
As for North American representatives, their hopes rest on Cloud9 or somewhat on Evil Geniuses. However, with the quality of players no longer being what it used to be, it will be quite challenging for Cloud9 to get past the group stage. Meanwhile, EG may have a bit more hope, but if they end up in a tough group, they too will likely be eliminated early.
Conclusion
In summary, with Western League of Legends representatives not becoming stronger, and even weakening, while strong regions like the LCK and LPL remain extremely intimidating, it is nearly impossible for them to compete for the title at Worlds 2022. Perhaps the most reasonable goal for teams like G2 Esports, Cloud9, etc. is to get out of the group stage, or at best, to reach the top 4. The title competition at Worlds 2022 will likely still be a matter for the representatives of LCK and LPL only.