Worlds 2022 Preview – Never underestimate the underdogs

Next up in Fragster’s League of Legends Worlds 2022 preview series are the champions of the LoL Japan League, Turkish Championship League, LoL Circuit Oceania, and the Campeonato Brasileiro de LoL.

DetonatioN FocusMe

Look at this team listed in this piece and say to yourself this: was there any doubt they would return to Worlds this year? Having known DFM’s track record of LJL excellence, this was nothing out of the ordinary. What is different about this team is the lineup they exhibited compared to last year.

Following the departures of support Gaeng and mid-laner Aria during the offseason, DFM picked up Harp and Yaharong, former LCK substitutes who have since come unto their own as formidable stars in Japan. With a new version of ‘Exodia’, DFM commanded their league by going 19-2 in both spring and summer during the regular season and defeating rivals Sengoku Gaming four separate times in the playoffs.

Last year was certainly provided a watershed moment for DFM as they became the first Japanese team to reach the group stages of the World Championship, but seeing as they went 0-6 in that next stage, they’re eager to surpass their performance to even greater heights for this year.

Chiefs Esports Club

Oceania’s best team finally got their due at the tail end of the season as they booked their ticket to Worlds behind an utterly dominating showing in the LCO summer split. Just to make sense of how good Chiefs were in the league, they played a total of 28 games in the split including playoffs and they have lost just once, which happened in the grand finals against Pentanet.GG.

It’s a showing reminiscent of past champions such as Legacy Esports in 2020, of whom four members of that squad includes current Chiefs players like top laner Topoon, mid-laner Tally, ADC Raes, and former jungler-now-turned-head coach Babip. Besides that, regarding new signing Arthur, who was previously the substitute for Hanwha Life Esports, he has become one of the region’s best junglers from the jump.

Although Chiefs suffered an upset loss in the LCO spring split grand finals to ORDER, they made certain there would be no mistakes in summer. Having gained experienced in the Worlds stage after the past two years, Chiefs’ players feel it’s their time to take the next step and break through Play-Ins, a feat no Oceanic team had been able to do to date.

Istanbul Wildcats

For the better part of three years, Istanbul Wildcats have created and maintained their place as one of the best teams in the TCL. From their debut in the 2019 summer split, the team has won three league titles and also gained two MSI appearances as a result. But for all of their recent string of success, IW hadn’t qualified for Worlds. That changed this year with their successful title defense in the 2022 summer split.

As the second seed in the playoffs, IW breezed past SuperMassive Blaze and Fenerhahce Esports, who reached the finals as the sixth seed in their own right, to claim the title, which was capped by a wondrous 4/0/10 performance by Turkish veteran ADC HolyPhoenix.

And it is through their ADC where IW mode of attack comes from. If you give him the adequate tools and space to do what he does best, snatch kills, then IW, in whatever circumstance, has the chance to turn any game over its head.

Isurus Gaming

When it comes to describing Isurus’ return to the top of Latin American League of Legends, no one is best suited to be used as a point of emphasis as mid-laner Seiya. Having won multiple LATAM titles and being regarded as one of the best in the region’s history in the process, it had been more than three years since Seiya had returned to international play.

Rather than switching to another team for a better chance of success, the Mexican player stayed with Isurus, playing through various iterations of the team in order to return to his once glorious past.

Even so, the team struggled earlier in the year as they had yet to find the right team to contend with the rest of the league. All that disarray was eventually resolved by the time the closing split began, as through the signing of jungler Grell, Isurus found their footing which ultimately led to their championship win over Estral Esports.

This year’s Worlds will be unlike all that came before it with Isurus shouldering the hopes of a region inching to break through that glass ceiling of success that had long eluded them.

LOUD

One of the world’s fastest growing esports organizations have finally steered their way into League’s biggest event. Who would’ve thought such a scene was possible after looking at their position in Split 1, where they resided in the lower table of the standings.

In order to bolster their team, LOUD signed top laner Robo and mid-laner tinowns, who last played for paiN Gaming and had helped them reach MSI 2021. Through Robo’s arrival, the team moved Tay to jungler as a way to complement their new lineup, but by missing the playoffs in Split 1, further changes were implemented. That paved the way for jungler Croc and ADC Brance. While LOUD showed some semblance of improvement during the regular season, it was during the playoffs where they finally found their best form, rebounding from a loss to paiN to sweep them in the grand finals.

One of the players to look out for from LOUD is Brance, who joined the team after being promoted from the academy roster before the summer split. Since being called up, he was second overall in the CBLOL in average KDA, and gained three MVP awards during the playoffs, becoming a crucial part to the team’s eventual title win.

With him playing alongside established talent like Robo, LOUD shouldn’t be underestimated by any metric, and with their success in other games such as them winning Valorant Champions 2022, who else should doubt them?

Header: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games