100 Thieves eliminated from Worlds 2024
The first major region team to be eliminated from Worlds 2024 are the young 100 Thieves.
Despite a promising surge back to form in Round 2 of the Play-In Stage, PSG Talon ultimately proved too much for the LCS third seed.
No answers from the Thieves
Coming into their deciding series against PSG, 100 Thieves had the support of an entire major region on their backs. And yet, despite competing in the stronger league and defeating a strong Cloud9 roster not too long ago, the Thieves were not the favorites to make it out of Play-Ins.
PSG were approaching the match hungry to prove that the greatest minor region organization of all time still has what it takes to compete with the best. And to do so, they needed a ticket to the Swiss Stage.
Right off the bat, PSG showed up and simply dominated 100T in game 1. Off the back of an unrelenting pace and well executed plays across the map, PSG took hold of a lead and did not let go.
As for 100 Thieves, the young North American team looked stunned. The team showed little signs of life as PSG made the map their own, running away with a 26 minute victory in which 100 Thieves only managed to secure one single kill.
Time to fly home
0-1 down in the final series of the Worlds 2024 Play-In Stage, it was now or never for 100 Thieves. The team was sure to want to make their region proud, and that meant finding a way to get to the Swiss Stage, no matter the cost.
In a desperate attempt at getting back on the right track, 100 Thieves chose to put Quid on Renekton in the mid lane in an attempt to make the laning phase a painful experience for PSG veteran star Maple. The bid, however, did not pan out.
PSG flew into an early lead yet again in game 2, constantly negating most of what River's Lilia tried to accomplish. Behind in gold and desperate to make their region proud, 100 Thieves chose several ill-timed fights which they displayed little more than their team comp's lack of cohesion.
Ultimately, PSG took the second and final game of the series in just 30 minutes of play, boasting a 20-9 killscore.
Result: PSG Talon 2 - 0 100 Thieves
Despite having represented the organization for nearly two years in the past and helping elevate the team to new heights, PSG showed their ruthless nature as they dominated former jungler River on their way to making it to the Worlds 2024 Swiss Stage.
The path ahead
There is hardly a better place to learn for a League of Legends team than the world stage.
Despite the crushing loss, 100 Thieves boast a young and hungry roster that is surely willing to learn from the experience. Though the team will have hoped to make the LCS proud at Worlds, the early exit from the tournament leaves 100 Thieves with little option other than to come back stronger in 2025.
One light may be out, but two bright North American stars still shine across the Worlds 2024 horizon. Only time will tell whether Team Liquid and FlyQuest can make the LCS proud one last time and qualify for the knockout stage at Worlds 2024.
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Image source: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
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