LCO Split 1 2023: Kanga down Chiefs in explosive end to stage one

LCO Split 1 2023: Kanga down Chiefs in explosive end to stage one

Time Stamp: February 7, 2023 7:10 AM

LCO Split 1 2023 is finally here. Oceania’s best and brightest League reps will battle it out on the Rift once more, but plenty has changed; new faces, a new format and a new end goal — the PCS playoffs. Who will carry the OCE torch forward?

  • Peace defeat Chiefs in first game for 2023
  • Dire Wolves drop win streak to Pentanet
  • Four teams in contention for top seed

“Explosive” is about as good of a term as one could use for the final matchday of LCO Split 1’s opening stage, with Dire Wolves emerging from the chaos to claim first seed.

DW came from behind to defeat Peace, who will run it back from the bottom seed with just one win alongside their five forfeited games.

But there may just be a new definition for the term “upset” this week; the lowly Kanga Esports roster shocked the reigning LCO champions Chiefs to deny them a top two seed.

“We played awfully this week and deserved to lose, GG’s to Kanga,” summed up Chiefs support Ryan “Aladoric” Richardson on Twitter after the loss, which sees The Chiefs fall to fourth seed entering stage two.

Team Bliss, in their first split in the LCO, took second seed via head-to-head over Pentanet, and will play Kanga in their first stage two match later in February.

Dire Wolves, Peace, Pentanet and Mammoth make up Group A, while Bliss, Kanga, Chiefs and Ground Zero reside in Group B for stage two.

Each group will play through a double-elimination bracket, with the top two in each group progressing to stage three, and for one, onward to the PCS playoffs.

We’re covering LCO Split 1: teams, schedule, results and more.

LCO Split 1 2023 Streams

The LCO streams live on Twitch. Missed the action? Catch up via on-demand VODs posted immediately following each matchday.

LCO Split 1 — Main Stream

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LCO Split 1 2023 Schedule & Results

Split 1 of LCO 2023 features a brand new five week format. Stage One will see each team will play a best-of-three against one another via round robin.

Based upon Stage One results, Stage two sees each team seeded into two groups and play out a best-of-three double-elimination bracket. For the two emerging squads in each group, they’ll move to Stage Three — the other two will be eliminated.

Stage Three will see one final double-elimination bracket, with the top two booking their tickets to the PCS playoffs, and potentially beyond to London’s Mid-Season Invitational.

Note: Week 2 & 3 matches may be subject to change.

LCO Split 1 2023 Standings

Ranking Team Record
1 Dire Wolves 6-1
2 Bliss 5-2
3 Pentanet.GG 5-2
4 The Chiefs 4-3
5 Ground Zero Gaming 3-4
6 Mammoth 2-5
7 Kanga Esports 2-5
8 Peace 1-6

LCO Split 1 2023 Schedule — Week 1

Date Match Time (AEDT)
Monday, Jan 23 Bliss 0-1 Chiefs 6pm
Pentanet 1-0 Ground Zero 7pm
Dire Wolves 1-0 Mammoth 8pm
Peace FF-W Kanga N/A
Tuesday, Jan 24 Pentanet 1-0 Kanga 6pm
Ground Zero 0-1 Chiefs 7pm
Bliss 0-1 Dire Wolves 8pm
Peace FF-W Mammoth N/A

LCO Split 1 2023 Schedule — Week 2

Date Match Time (AEDT)
Monday, Jan 30 Chiefs 0-1 Dire Wolves 6pm
Kanga 0-1 Bliss 7pm
Mammoth 0-1 Pentanet 8pm
Ground Zero W-FF Peace N/A
Tuesday, Jan 31 Ground Zero 0-1 Dire Wolves 6pm
Kanga 0-1 Mammoth 7pm
Chiefs 1-0 Pentanet 8pm
Peace FF-W Bliss N/A
Wednesday, Feb 1 Mammoth 0-1 Chiefs 6pm
Bliss 1-0 Ground Zero 7pm
Dire Wolves 1-0 Kanga 8pm
Pentanet W-FF Peace N/A

LCO Split 1 2023 Schedule — Week 3

Date Match Time (AEDT)
Monday, Feb 6 Mammoth 0-1 Bliss 6pm
Dire Wolves 0-1 Pentanet 7pm
Chiefs 0-1 Peace 8pm
Kanga 0-1 Ground Zero 9pm
Tuesday, Feb 7 Dire Wolves 1-0 Peace 6pm
Pentanet 0-1 Bliss 7pm
Mammoth 0-1 Ground Zero 8pm
Chiefs 0-1 Kanga 9pm

LCO Split 1 2023 Rosters

Reigning LCO champions Chiefs will be out to defend their crown, but have undergone significant changes since their Mexico outing late last year.

Both Raes & Aladoric return as the team’s bot lane duo, with coach Babip steps back into the starting line-up as the team’s jungler. Former Order frontman BioPanther makes a return to the LCO with Chiefs after Order’s dissolution in 2022.

It’s a new Chiefs squad for ’23, but the league champs retain their favourites tag heading into Split 1.

Bliss and Ground Zero make their grand entrance to the LCO with a combination of youth and experience. Meanwhile, Mammoth have built around the 2022 Gravitas core, with Ch1Chi debuting in the LCO as the team’s top laner.

Team Squad
The Chiefs BioPanther Babip Kisee Raes Aladoric
Pentanet.GG Chippys Shernfire DONGGY Violet Apii
Dire Wolves Zorenous Poltron Chazz Praedyth Decoy
Kanga Esports Blue Fighto Hoopa Shinki Papryze
Peace Weizhe sHAKa NuL1 Chayon Chillness
Mammoth Ch1Chi Akano DaJeung Voice Entrust
Team Bliss Lived Whynot Daystar Leemas Benvi
Ground Zero Gaming Tron Gooby mfis Danteh Bulldawg

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