Worlds 2023 Swiss Stage Day 1: Perfect Score for China!
League of Legends Worlds 2023 has now entered the Swiss Stage. On Day 1 of the swiss stage, we have the LPL representatives achieving a perfect 4-0 in Bo1 results. LCK lags behind with a 2-2, and then we have the LEC and LCS, each with 1 win. Here’s everything you may have missed from the first day of Worlds 2023 Swiss Stage.
Format for Worlds 2023 Swiss Stage
The Worlds 2023 Swiss stage will run from the 19th of October to the 29th. Each team will play a maximum of 5 rounds, with all games except for elimination and qualifier series being Bo1s. The latter two types will be Bo3s. 16 teams compete in this part of the tournament.
For more information, keep up to date with our all-in-one comprehensive Worlds 2023 guide.
Day 1 Results
Worlds 2023 Swiss Stage Day 1 results (credits: Riot Games // Worlds 2023)T1 vs TL [1-0]
Cloud9 vs MAD Lions [1-0]
Gen.G vs GAM Esports [1-0]
JD Gaming vs Team BDS [1-0]
G2 Esports vs Dplus KIA [1-0]
NRG vs Weibo Gaming [0-1]
Fnatic vs LNG Esports [0-1]
BLG vs KT Rolster [1-0]
China, Perfection on Day 1
GODS was not enough to save Team BDS today against favorites JDG in the exciting Bo1 game. The surprising-unsurprising draft of Adam “Adam” Maanane’s Garen against Bai “369” Jia-Hao initially appeared to be a powerful pick that could slay the Chinese titans.
However, JDG’s prowess in teamfights proved superior and the team closed out the game in 27.04 minutes with a 6.2k gold lead. The surprising holes in the BDS draft allowed Zhuo “knight” Ding to wreak havoc with his comfort pick, Ahri, alongside allowing Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk on Kai’Sa. This proved fatal for BDS, and they were unable to compete in the mid-game teamfights.
LNG Esports had perhaps the second toughest series, facing off against the LEC 2nd seed Fnatic in their opening bout. A steady performance from Marek “Humanoid” Brázda in the game was not enough to contend with the double threat of Lee “Scout” Ye-Chan's Azir and Chen “GALA” Wei's Xayah. LNG closed out the game with a 29.11 minute win and a 10.4k gold lead.
In one of the bigger sweeps of Day 1, NRG found themselves facing Weibo Gaming. The LPL representatives sent them packing in 29.11 minutes with a 15.2k gold lead. Despite the best efforts from NRG, they were unable to find much success with their pick comp, with their botlane duo ending with a combined 0/5/2 scoreline. Meanwhile, Wang “Light” Guang-Yu ended the game with 7/0/4 on the Kai’Sa.
KT Rolster at the League of Legends World Championship 2023 Swiss Features Day on October 16, 2023 in Seoul, South Korea. Credit: Lee Aiksoon/Riot GamesLastly, we had the closest match for China on the first day, Bilibili Gaming (BLG) versus KT Rolster. The match was an intense back-and-forth with both teams trading picks and objectives. The game ended with a total of 30 kills across the board, a bloody affair in which BLG emerged victorious after 45.16 minutes. The 9.7k gold was a minimal factor as nearly everyone was fully built as this point. Chen “Bin” Ze-Bin on the K’Sante deserves especial mention for his incredible team-fighting in this series, alongside the nail-biting constant trades of kills between Zhao “Elk” Jia-Hao on the Xayah and Kim “Aiming” Ha-ram on the Kai’Sa.
Korea Looking Top Heavy
The LCK teams have come away from day 1 with a 50% winrate across their 4 teams. T1 took on Team Liquid in the first match of the day, pulling out a powerful new composition involving Ashe, Renata, and Jayce in the top lane. Some misplays during the early and mid-game led to Team Liquid staying relevant in the match with their carries. T1 finally managed to close it out in 36.28 minutes, with a mere 700 gold lead. Choi “Zeus” Woo-Je on the Jayce managed to be the saving grace of the team despite falling behind in the early-game. The pokes and prods from T1’s comp was what ultimately allowed them to keep Eain “APA” Stearns’ Syndra at bay, allowing them to win the game.
Gen.G looked far cleaner in their own series against GAM Esports, closing out the game in only 22.35 minutes. The 11k gold leader Gen.G ended the game with came about as a result of their dominant laning phase, in which the combined efforts of every single Gen.G laner delivered strong results. A special mention has to go to Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon on the Ahri and Han “Peanut” Wang-ho on the Vi. Both players managed to gap their lane opponents significantly with oppressive macro plays.
Gen.G takes a bow onstage after victory at the League of Legends World Championship 2023 Swiss Stage on October 19, 2023 in Seoul, South Korea. Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot GamesThe last game of the day to mention is G2 Esports vs Dplus KIA. G2 managed to win the game in 42.12 minutes with a 12.5 k gold lead. Despite it being a massive back-and-forth affair for both teams, the Draven of Steven “Hans Sama” Liv proved to be too much to handle. Dplus KIA had drafted a powerful poke composition that had great disengage with the Alistar and Rell, however, G2’s persistence in forcing close quartered team fights ultimately leaned the game state towards their favor.
NA > EU
Cloud9 shattered EU hopefuls in their win against MAD Lions. The North American roster played spectacularly well, with special mention to Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami on Jax and Kim “Berserker” Min-cheol on Xayah, posting a combined 9 kills and only 2 deaths between them. Moreover, Kim “Chasy” Dong-hyeon on Gwen and Matyáš “Carzzy” Orság on Ezreal were especially gapped in this game as they struggled to successfully perform in teamfights against Cloud9’s strong engages. Cloud9 ended the game in 30.59 minutes, with a 7.6k gold lead.
Ezreal for EU
EU’s persistent drafting of Ezreal in this Worlds has continued to prove fatal. Ezreal has been picked in six games so far at Worlds 2023, by both BDS and now Fnatic. According to oracleselixir, the Prodigal Explorer has a 25% winrate with a 50% counter-pick rate in Play-Ins, across 4 games played. Furthermore, in the Swiss Stage, it was even more egregious, with a 0% winrate and 100% counter-pick rate. This means both times he has been picked in the Swiss Stage, it was as a counter-pick, yet has lost both times.
Day 2 Matchups Promises Blood
With the conclusion of Worlds 2023 Swiss Stage Day 1, the Day 2 matchups have now been drawn. With great excitement, among the upcoming matchups are quite a few domestic face-offs between the top regions. Stay put for the following article on the schedule and predictions for Day 2 coming up next.
Featured Image Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
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