GAM and BDS advance to Worlds 2023 Swiss Stage after close qualifier series
GAM Esports and Team BDS have emerged victorious in today’s League of Legends Worlds 2023 qualifier. Both Team Whales and PSG Talon have been eliminated from Worlds. This means GAM remains as the sole representative for Vietnam, and the PCS region has been eliminated in its entirety (CTBC Flying Oyster was eliminated yesterday). Now, GAM and BDS will progress on to the Worlds 2023 Group Stage, to join the other 14 teams waiting there.
Team Whales eliminated
Team Whales faced off against GAM Esports in a domestic battle in the qualifiers. Despite the close nature of the series, GAM eventually emerged victorious 3-1 over Whales. Fighting was the name of the series as both teams regularly traded kills across the 4 games played.
Game 1 was a clean statement from GAM, ending the game in 27.07 minutes with a 9.4k gold lead. Đặng “Kati” Thanh Phê was the standout player for GAM in that first game, racking up a 6/1/6 scoreline on the Syndra. Despite the best efforts from Nguyễn “Sparda” Võ Anh Hoàng on the K’Sante, there was not a lot he could do as GAM stormed ahead in the majority of the teamfights.
Heading into Game 2, Whales looked much cleaner as Trần “BeanJ” Văn Chính redeemed himself on the Viego, posting a 9/0/3 scoreline. Moreover, “Sparda” on the K’Sante continued to deliver, guaranteeing Whales a clean reply game to even the score. The game ended at 27.30 minutes with a 13.2k gold lead.
Game 3 finally saw GAM ban K’Sante and Viego, leading to the first struggles for Whales as they had been the primary carry answers for the latter. Nguyễn “Slayder” Linh Vương went massive in this game, racking up an insane scoreline of 11/2/7 as he shredded Whales on the Xayah.
Whales replied in Game 4 with a Jax and Sejuani ban, however, this just allowed Đỗ “Levi” Duy Khánh to pick up his signature Wukong. GAM closed out the game and the series with a powerhouse performance, ending the game in 27.32 minutes with an 11.5k gold lead.
PSG Talon eliminated
In the closest game thus far of Worlds 2023, BDS and PSG Talon went toe-to-toe for the final qualification spot. PSG Talon were on the cusp of winning, having taken the first two games, however, they were unable to prevent the full reverse sweep from BDS. BDS secured their first Worlds Group Stage appearance with this victory, at their first ever Worlds.
Game 1 was a slow burner. With the pick/ban phase going largely in favor to PSG, BDS hoped to stall long enough for their Azir and Zeri carries to come online. Fan favorite Adam “Adam” Maanane was in a tough matchup against the Kennen of Huang “Azhi” Shang-Jhih. Sadly, for BDS, their comp never got the full chance as they played from behind the whole way. PSG secured 4 dragons, 11 kills, and an 11.2k gold lead to close out game 1 in 34.28 minutes.
Game 2 had PSG hammering home their advantage with an ultra-aggressive composition. The Syndra-Taliyah Mid-Jungle composition from BDS served little purpose as PSG aggressively pushed their advantage. Both Théo “Sheo” Borile on the Taliyah and Ilias “nuc” Bizriken were rendered useless with a total of 9 deaths. “Sheo” went 0/5/3 and “nuc” went 1/4/1. The game ended in 28.11 minutes with a 15k gold lead.
Heading into the last three games, however, BDS massively changed up their team composition, with extra emphasis on giving “Adam” unconventional picks such as Olaf, Garen, and Darius. The games all ended in favor of BDS: 40.39 minutes, 26.39 minutes, and 43.54 minutes. Despite PSG’s best efforts to counter BDS, the latter’s shift into the unconventional style that had netted them a Worlds spot managed to overcome the PCS representative. “Adam” himself posted an 8/2/7 in game 3 and 7/1/5 in game 4.
What Comes Next?
With these set of games over, the Worlds 2023 Play-Ins stage comes to a close. The Swiss Stage is next, and the bracket draw event has already occurred with the conclusion of Play-Ins. Stand by for our Draw-In coverage article. The Worlds 2023 Swiss Stage is set to kick-off on the 19th of October. Follow everything Worlds 2023 in our handy all-in-one guide.
Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games