LCS Summer 2022 preview: Top-heavy battle for NA Worlds

North America’s League Championship Series returns on June 17. But the LCS title is not the only thing on the line, as the 10 teams compete for the chance to attend a World Championship on home soil.

North American League of Legends is back and the stakes are higher than ever before. With Worlds 2022 set to be held across North America, every team in the LCS wants to be there representing the region on home soil. But with only three places available to the region, who will be making it to Worlds?

LCS roster moves

100 Thieves: – Tenacity

Cloud9: – Summit, Winsome, Isles | + Jensen, Zven

Counter Logic Gaming: – Jenkins | + Dhoka

Dignitas: – FakeGod | + Gamsu

Evil Genuises: None

FlyQuest: – Kumo | + Philip

Golden Guardians: – Lost | + Stixxay

Immortals: – Destiny, Xerxe, WildTurtle | + Lost, IgNar, Kenvi

Team Liquid: None

TSM: – Takeover, Keaiduo | + Maple

Cloud9 and TSM hope to bounce back

Perhaps the biggest shock of the LCS Spring split was the “collapse” of Cloud9 and the downfall of TSM. Both teams have invested in overseas talent, with Cloud9 overhauling their roster with Korean talent, while TSM acquired two unknown prospects from China.

Cloud9 were confusing, to say the least. They fired their coach, streamer and former pro Nick “LS” Cesare, after a 3-1 start. Korean top laner Park “Summit” Woo-tae with one of the most dominant splits the league has ever seen. And yet Cloud9 completely fell apart in the playoffs and finished a distant fourth. However, they enter Summer with a much safer and more coherent roster. Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami returns to the top lane after role-swapping to mid for Spring. Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen, Cloud9’s mid laner from May 2015 to November 2018, returns to the team. And Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen returns from the academy team, albeit role-swapped to support. This is the roster that Cloud9 hopes will push them back into the top three.

As for TSM, their Chinese import experiment failed miserably. This was primarily due to a complete strikeout on the talent they acquired. To fill their gap at mid lane, they have acquired Pacific Championship Series legend Huang “Maple” Yi-Tang. While TSM likely don’t have their minds on Worlds, the team will be looking to improve on their 5-13 record from Spring.

Four-horse race for Worlds

With Cloud9 likely returning to contention, the LCS will have a four-team battle for the three spots at Worlds.

Evil Geniuses enter as defending champions and come off a semifinals appearance at MSI. Their young, aggressive roster will be eager to prove that they aren’t just a flash in the pan.

100 Thieves, Summer 2021 champions, will likely come out swinging to avenge an embarrassing sweep at the hands of Evil Geniuses in the Spring Grand Final. 100 Thieves has faith in its seasoned lineup and will look to them again to get them to their second consecutive Worlds. Meanwhile, Team Liquid’s goal in Summer is to showcase what their star-studded roster can do. Having invested so much into acquiring some of the best European talent around, third place isn’t going to cut it again.

Then there’s Cloud9, who finished fourth in Spring and will be on the fringe of Worlds contention, if not a pre-split lock for international play.

Dark horse Dignitas?

We would be remiss not to mention the other fringe contender for Worlds – Dignitas. Yes, Dignitas finished 8-10 in Spring, missing the playoffs. However, they also took two wins off 100 Thieves and saw impressive performances from LCS rookies Kim “River” Dong-woo and Ersin “Blue” Gören. The team comes back older and wiser, along with new top laner Noh “Gamsu” Yeong-jin. Gamsu re-joined Dignitas, whom he played for between 2014 and 2015, after a lengthy career as a professional Overwatch player.

Dignitas is defending an outside shot to qualify for Worlds, or even crack the top four. However, they might be one of the most intriguing teams in the split.

2022 LCS Summer split

The 2022 LCS Summer split begins on June 17, kicking off a special three-day opening weekend. A showdown between Evil Geniuses and Cloud9 will open the split at 2230 BST/2330 CEST. The LCS Summer split will run until September 11, with the Finals taking place at United Center in Chicago.

Header: Jordano35, LCS