Worlds 2023 play-in round 1 – partial results and favorites

Day 1 of Worlds 2023’s play-in round 1 is over and we’re starting to see who the top teams are.

Group A

PSG Talon dismantled Rainbow7 in two decisive games, while LOUD won against GAM Esports after a rough match in which they needed nearly 40 minutes to end game 2.

The double-elimination format will give the losing teams a second chance. But it will be difficult for them to make a comeback. Based on what we’ve seen so far, LOUD and PSG are significantly stronger than them.

Usually, the sign that a team could potentially avenge a defeat just days later is their ability to win one game in a best-of-three series. That didn’t happen here, so whoever ends up playing in the decider match will start as the underdog.

Thanks to fans who showed up! pic.twitter.com/M9EsMhK2ej

— PSG TALON (@PSG_TALON) October 11, 2023

Group B

Group B barely started and at the moment, CTBC Flying Oyster are leading DetonatioN FocusMe 1-0. The confrontations are very exciting to watch and the Bo3 format makes them even more interesting.

In previous years, Riot used to have a lot of Bo1 matches until the playoffs, which were not very satisfying to watch. There was always a “what if?” at the end. But this new format makes the winners a lot more deserving of their victories.

In the second opening match, Team BDS will play against Team Whales. Given the excellent results of BDS in 2023, it’s hard to imagine them losing a Bo3 against this relatively unknown opponent.

For certain, the favorites in this group are CFO, DFM, and BDS. But only two of them will end up qualifying. Those two teams are likely to be CFO and BDS, but maybe the Japanese can surprise us.

The meta

So far, we’ve seen a lot of Rakan games, but the champion meta is starting to diversify. As the tournament progresses, teams will notice more and more patterns in the others’ drafts and will respond with new and surprising strategies.

It’s hard to believe that everyone will just pick the same champions over and over. But some strategies seem to be working really well at the moment. For instance, Rakan’s win rate is 100%, and he was picked in 4 of the 5 games!

Champions like Jayce and Neeko are also very popular and very successful at the moment.

Header: Riot Games