EG face MAD Lions for last spot at Worlds

DRX and Fnatic top their groups to secure a spot in the Group stage at the World Championship 2022.

Two of the twelve teams participating in the Play-In stage at Worlds have booked their tickets to the next round of competition. Evil Geniuses had to play two tie-breakers in Group A and still aren’t guaranteed a spot in Groups. With the Knockout stage upon us, only two of the three teams from major regions can advance, and RNG are bound to get in.

Evil Geniuses are pushed to the edge

The last day of the group’s competition threw a curve ball that no one was expecting. EG’s surprising loss to Japanese representatives Detonation Focus Me, prevented them from contesting Fnatic for the first seed. It also threw them in a three-way tie for second place, causing them to play a rematch against DFM and another tiebreaker against LOUD. Despite winning both matches, they are still not qualified for the next round of competition. 

Play-In stage Knockout format

To make it as fair as possible, Riot Games implemented a best of five series to decide the second seeds from both groups. After the dust has settled on the regular competition, the third seed from each group is facing off against the fourth seed from the same group. The winner of this matchup is supposed to match up against the second seed from the opposite group.

By winning the two tiebreakers, Evil Geniuses secured the second seed in Group A and will face off against the winner of the match between the MAD Lions and Saigon Buffalo. On the other side, MAD Lions lost to DRX on the last day, putting them in third place. RNG took care of business against SGB, awaiting the outcome of the LOUD and DMF matchup, as the second seed from Group B.

MAD Lions or Evil Geniuses?

Regardless of the outcome, the storylines have been set. The MAD Lions have already beaten SGB in their group once, but can they do it in a five-game series? They didn’t win a single one of those on their road to the World Championship. Even if they do, they still have to go through Evil Geniuses. We can attribute EG’s recent struggles to them missing their starting bot laner who was a big part of their success, but what is the excuse for the MAD Lions if they lose? This team went from the LEC first seed in the 2022 Summer Split to bombing out of the playoffs in two weeks. Despite having the reigning LEC MVP, ⅘ of the All-LEC team, and coaching staff of the split. 

Header: Riot Games