On October 10, the teams entered the third day of the group stage of the World Championship (CKTG) 2022. For some teams, such as in Group A, this was already their final match in the first round of the group stage. However, throughout the days of the group stage and the previous matches in the Play-In stage, the League of Legends community has drawn some notable points from CKTG 2022.
The Strong Rise of Rogue
When it comes to European representatives at the CKTG 2022, people think of G2 Esports (G2) or Fnatic (FNC) – names that are very familiar and have good form with a quality roster. However, while G2 lost to DWG KIA (DK) in their opening match, Rogue (RGE) caught attention by defeating both representatives from VCS and LCK. Among those, the victory against DRX truly surprised fans.
Notably, RGE showcased creativity in their gameplay by daring to use champions that rarely appeared this season, such as Jarvan IV and Soraka. Particularly, Jarvan IV in the hands of Malrang made GAM Esports have a very difficult early game. The innovation in RGE’s gameplay is the most impressive aspect of this team at CKTG 2022.
North American Teams Underperforming
One of the reasons Riot decided to bring CKTG 2022 back to its “homeland” was to attract the North American League of Legends community after many years of being overshadowed by the other three Major regions (LPL, LCK, and LEC). However, even though Riot can actively choose the location for CKTG, the issue lies with the performance of North American teams, which Riot cannot intervene in.
As of now, Cloud9 (C9) – the champions of LCS Summer 2022 have lost a total of 3 matches and are at the bottom of the standings after the first round. Two other LCS representatives, Evil Geniuses (EG) and 100 Thieves (100T), are also experiencing two straight losses. With upcoming matches against DK and Royal Never Give Up (RNG) in the final round of the group stage, the chances of these two teams winning are low. If EG and 100T also lose, it will mark one of the worst first rounds of the group stage for the North American region ever.
The Fluctuation of LCK
LCK teams are truly giving fans a headache. No one knows if they are hiding their strategies or if their recent performances reflect their true capabilities. A T1 that crushed both EDG and C9 but lost to FNC. Or the championship contender Gen.G Esports falling in their debut against RNG.
However, on the third day of competition, DRX has reclaimed both the capital and profit for LCK. DRX’s victory over TES was seen as a crushing blow to the pride of the LPL region. Meanwhile, the victory of LCK’s fourth seed over TES also helped LCK fans forget Gen.G’s embarrassing loss earlier.
Also on the third day, Gen.G and T1 also secured victories. Thus, it can be said that LCK has somewhat regained the trust of fans in CKTG 2022 this time.
The group stage of CKTG 2022 still has several matches left in the first round before moving into the second round. With what has transpired, fans can fully expect more surprises in the upcoming matches.