Worlds 2022 Group Stage: Day 2 Recap

Time Stamp: October 8, 2022 11:09 PM

The main event for Worlds 2022 continues, as strong contenders score big wins in the Group Stage.

The stakes get higher on the second day of groups. Impressive predictions and playmaking among the 12 pro teams gave the crowd a show for the books. Seeing an underdog like Fnatic win a match-up against a team like T1 gave LEC a huge lead that filled the fans with hope, while the defending champions of last year’s Worlds bounced back from yesterday’s loss with a crushing victory versus Cloud9. The day was ended with one of the closest games in Worlds history between a buff-stacked DK and the fighters in JDG.

You can learn more about the Worlds 2022 schedule and previous results here.

Rogue VS DRX (Group C)

Keeping an eye on every objective earned LEC the first win of the day. Shutting down the carries on DRX,, Rogue’s team composition held better crowd control capabilities that continuously halted in Deft’s Miss Fortune in her tracks. Larssen encouraged clashes with a strong Azir build, and Malrang’s Trundle made it very difficult for DRX to navigate and reposition during teamfights towards mid game. This, along with a lack of map vison led to a final 2:1 kill score ratio that gave Rogue enough of a gold advantage over their opponent to crash against their nexus. A fantastic show of playmaking from

  • Teams: RGE 1 – 0 DRX
  • Time: 36:09
  • Kills: 20 – 10
  • Turrets: 8 – 3
  • Gold: 68.0k – 58.6k
  • Dragons: 4 – 1
  • Barons: 2 –0

Evil Geniuses VS G2 Esports (Group B)

Dispatching EG with ease, the LEC 2nd seed used champs that they were comfortable with, rewarding them with the first win of the day. The absolute supremacy of G2E’s Nidalee picked up in the early game, and its support was felt in all of the lanes. The team synergy led to the snowball that slowly built over the match. The early game aggression by Jankos enabled G2 to transition from the traditionally safe plays they practiced against DWG to the confident push plays that won them multiple champion engagements in the midgame. After some resistance, EG slowly lost the match with a 10k gold deficit.

  • Teams: EG 0 – 1 G2E
  • Time: 27:34
  • Kills: 2 – 19
  • Turrets: 2 – 9
  • Gold: 42.6k – 53.2k
  • Dragons: 1 – 3
  • Barons: 0 – 1

Fnatic VS T1 (Group A)

The Worlds 2022 underdogs went up against the most dominant winners from Day 1 of groups. All eyes were on the EU team to see if FNC could measure up against arguably the best team on the international stage so far. Faker’s Akali flex option gave him the option to dominate both mid and top, while Fnatic looked for an early game focus at bot lane with Nami and Lucian.

EU found an early 3v3 advantage at the bottom lane with gave them an early lead, punishing the T1 jungler’s invade on Red Buff. FNC was piling on the pressure until technical difficulties from T1’s side put a temporary pause on the match. T1 accepted a “Chronobreak” from the referees and the match got rewinded back to 6:57, which reset a bottom lane engagement. Nevertheless, confident trades by FNC urged T1 to slow down to find control over the flow of the game. FNC won the first baron buff uncontested, and Wunder rotated to defend bottom lane tower against Oner and Zeus.

Upset’s damage carried the underdogs to midgame, getting the picks despite the enemy popping summoner spells. First turret fell at top lane as T1 found a midgame opportunity, but FNC’s impressive teamplays stepped up to meet every challenge. On top of that, Upset’s item advantage let him shred any champion that came his way, allowing the EU representative to consistently keep the lead they found in that first early game kill.

The amount of scaling seen with Azir and Lucian made Fnatic unstoppable with a 10k difference. They made it difficult even for Faker to find any opening. The contenders from EU won the match in an impressive tour de force, showing the Worlds stage that the T1 gods can bleed.

  • Teams: FNC 1 – 0 T1
  • Time: 29:13
  • Kills: 19 – 7
  • Turrets: 10 – 4
  • Gold: 58.7k – 45.6k
  • Dragons: 2 – 2
  • Barons: 1 – 0

EDward Gaming VS Cloud9 (Group A)

C9 fought last year’s world champions for Game 4 on the international groups stage, and the game was a landslide win for EDG. Meiko’s Thresh shined in this match, scoring high IQ hook predicts and saving his allies multiple times. Chants from the crowd graced the whole game, inspiring quick damage trades from both teams right off the bat. EDG was able to turn clashes around with tight escapes while C9 claimed first drake. EDG’s extraordinarily powerful team composition was hard to beat as the minutes ticked. Scout’s dominance in mid lane gave the LPL a constant early game lead with a Rift Herald. C9 was able to get one or two kills in various teamfights down mid lane, but each fight was an uphill battle for the LCS seed. A punished contest for drake in the jungle gave EDG a window for Baron, which dealt a devastating blow to C9.

  • Teams: EDG 1– 0 C9
  • Time: 28:31
  • Kills: 15 – 4
  • Turrets: 10 – 1
  • Gold: 56.8k – 44.1k
  • Dragons: 3 – 1
  • Barons: 1 – 0

Top Esports VS GAM Esports (Group C)

GAM finally made their return to Worlds 2022 after 3 years. Complete with Levi himself, their strong presence as one of the world’s best teams was known internationally. Unfortunately, TEs gave them a very hot welcome. The game had a slow start, with the scoreboard staying 0 – 0 past 8 minutes and GAM taking dragon in the slow climb. Tian took advantage of every tool on Lulu’s belt to prevent any disadvantage for his team, and set the first clash that tipped the scales in TES’ favor. Tian found more ways to counter attempted enemy ganks bottom lane, which won them more teamfights that saw a 6-0 score just outside of 10 minutes. Yuumi remained a menace, zoning with her ultimate to separate hard hitters among GAM. Vietnam’s 1st seed saw some success with 2v1 fights, but Top Esports’ insurmountable lead gave them permission to commit to overaggressive plays that scored them a clean win.

  • Teams: TES 1 – 0 GAM
  • Time: 24:51
  • Kills: 23 – 6
  • Turrets: 10 – 1
  • Gold: 54.8k – 38.4k
  • Dragons: 2 – 1
  • Barons: 1 – 0

DWG Kia VS JD Gaming (Group B)

The final match-up in Day 2 of Groups was an extremely close match with DWG meeting the LPL’s #1 seed. Aatrox found a rare ban for this game, which led to decisive picks that guaranteed a difficult match-up. Canyon’s back cancel set Kanavi up for first blood by deokdam. Yagao’s massive “Emperor’s Divide” counterplay against the enemy Taliyah pushed 3 members of DK into his teammates who secured the kills and stole the early game advantage. 369’s Orn ultimate cleared enough space for a mid lane team clash, gaining a slight kill lead. Korea’s contender stole 3rd drake, giving them enough confidence to push top tower.

JDG kept their distance in the midgame and chose to work in lanes with no enemy presence, but a double kill by ShowMaker, an uncontested baron take, and another stolen dragon by DWG Kia threatened to take back the momentum. Despite this, the LPL representatives were determined to keep their lead, and played it safe until they secured a Baron of their own. At the end of the day, JDG’s superior fighting power beat the back and forth after winning a clash at Dragon, earning them the closest win at Worlds 2022.

  • Teams: DWG 0 – 1 JDG
  • Time: 36:53
  • Kills: 11  – 18
  • Turrets: 5 – 9
  • Gold: 62.0k – 70.7k
  • Dragons: 3 – 3
  • Barons: 1 – 1

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