No European Team in Top 8 of Worlds 2023
2014. That was the last time Europe failed to qualify at least one team to Top 8 of Worlds. League of Legends’ Worlds 2023 has been an exciting gauntlet thus far, with plenty of upsets. But perhaps one of the biggest upsets of the tournament thus far, comes in the form of G2’s and Fnatic’s losses today. Because of their back-to-back losses today, for the first time in nearly a decade, Europe has no representative in the Top 8 of League of Legends’ most prestigious annual tournament.
Scrim Form Fails to Translate
Leading up to Worlds 2023’s Swiss Stage, G2 was touted often as the Western team with some of the best and most promising scrim results. The European juggernaut had steadily been earning a reputation across the year for their out-of-the-box compositions, reminiscent of their glory years in the past.
And initially, it did look very promising. G2 was the only Western team at this tournament to pick up wins against the Koreans and Chinese teams. Victories over Dplus KIA AND Weibo Gaming put G2 in good stead and on the fast track to make the Knockout Stage.
That said, when push came to shove, G2 failed to translate crucial victories and earn their top 8 spot. Perhaps the most egregious moment during their run lies in their prep against Worlds attendees. If one were to ask G2, they would almost certainly name any number of the Eastern teams as both worthy contenders and regular scrim partners. However, pride cometh before the fall, and G2’s greatest failure at this Worlds, as it turned out, was falling to NRG in the 2-1 bracket. Had G2 won that series, they, instead of NRG, would have already qualified for the Knockout Stage.
Instead, the loss catapulted the European stars into a tough do-or-die series against one of China’s most determined in BLG. Not a team you want to face with their backs against the wall. G2 attempted to right the ship over the course of the series, managing to equalize the score. Sadly, their errors in judgment and their persistence in forcing teamfights, ended in BLG walking away with the victory.
Hauntings of a Turbulent Year
Unlike G2, it is difficult to fault Fnatic. If anything, their placement this deep in the Swiss Stage already exceeds expectations for this squad. Having begun the year with a squad that lacked synergy, failing to make LEC Playoffs for the first time in their organization’s history, only to begin to turn it around in Spring, fall short, replace their AD Carry with a rookie, replacing their veteran top laner with another rookie… The list of troubles continues, and Fnatic’s success in spite of their obstacles speaks well on the future of this particular roster.
Moreover, Fnatic had to face the trifecta of Chinese teams. Aside from JDG, Fnatic suffered losses from LNG, BLG, and most recently, Weibo. The wins posted by them at this event came from their series against GAM and Cloud9. Hardly notable adversaries for players of Fnatic’s tenure.
Falling Short as a Region
Previously, Strafe Esports covered a report by Felix “Abbedagge” Braun. In the report, it mentioned his statement on a podcast of the declining level of LEC’s mid laners. The point he made was that while the players were capable of reaching the levels required, they did not push their leads as hard as they could.
Parts of his statement has come true at Worlds 2023. In this tournament, we saw the Korean and Chinese teams out push the Western teams in terms of lead generation, side lane manipulation, general macro decision-making, and most importantly, knowing when and HOW to force team-fights when they were strong.
Conclusion
Europe’s failings in the past few years to grow more talent aside from their very best teams has now resulted in a weaker competitive party being sent out to Worlds in 2023. While domestically, G2 were dominant, internationally, they were little more than a curiosity in their drafting habits. Lane for lane, MAD Lions, BDS, Fnatic, and G2 regularly found no leads and little opportunity to snowball carry performances against the more measured Eastern teams.
Credit: Worlds 2023 // LoL Esports