DRX Stuns Gen.G, Will Face T1 Esports In Worlds 2022 Finals
Only one series remains in the League of Legends World Championships. Worlds 2022 will be remembered as a wild return to in-person play after two years of COVID, and tonight we move one step closer to the finals. The last series of the semifinals has the rags and riches of South Korea competing as the first seeded Gen.G LOL takes on play-in qualifier DragonX. (DRX)
Game 1: Gen.G picks up where they left off
Gen.G: 1 DRX: 0
Logic dictated the road to a shocking upset for DRX involved winning game one. Gen G needed to be put on the back foot and needed to be made to respect DRX. It could not have gone more disastrously for DragonX fans.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 30: Cho "Beryl'' Geon-hee of Gen.G (L) and Son "Lehends" Si-woo of DRX make a grand entrance at the League of Legends World Championship Semifinals on October 30, 2022 in Atlanta, GA.
Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
Gen G was clinical throughout the first game of the series, picking their battles and emerging victorious constantly. They played at a much slower pace than we saw in games yesterday, which is usually a sign that one team is significantly better than the other. After all, there's no need to take chances when you can win at a methodical pace.
If DRX wants to have a chance to come back in the series, they are going to need to do something to throw Gen G off their game. Playing it safe, and playing the meta, is not the road to victory today for DRX.
Game 2: Everyone loves an underdog
Gen.G: 1 DRX: 1
Whether DRX wins the series or not, they've certainly won the hearts of the fans here in Atlanta. State Farm Arena was electric, with people cheering for the underdogs, and DRX gave them plenty to cheer about in the second game of the series.
Zeka picked up Ahri in the mid lane and he was a problem for the entire game. After spending much of the early game bullying Chovy, he became a nuisance all over the map. This was one of the slowest games of the semifinals, but this time it was DRX who handled their opponents methodically the whole way through. The 4th seed from the LCK seemed determined to show they were every bit as good as Gen.G in this game, and they did just that.
The 9-3 score line might make the match look closer than it really was, but DRX was in the driver's seat. If they can keep playing at this pace and keep this crowd energized and loud behind them, they could pull off the upset.
Game 3: Zeka and Pyosik are monsters given flesh
Gen.G: 1 DRX: 2
What else is there to say? If Gen.G doesn't make a comeback, they'll be having nightmares of Zeka and Pyosik until 2023. Throughout the early game, Pyosik was all over Summoner's Rift making headaches for Gen.G. Once the midgame came around, Zeka began to pop off on Akali. If DRX goes on to win, his performance will be one of the biggest reasons why.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 30: Han "Peanut" Wang-ho of Gen.G (L) and Hong "Pyosik" Chang-hyeon of DRX make a grand entrance at the League of Legends World Championship Semifinals on October 30, 2022, in Atlanta, GA.
Photo by Fernando Decillis/Riot Games
Gen.G looks shaken. The crowd in the arena is firmly behind their opponents, and they look afraid to make a mistake. Meanwhile, DRX is going all out, taking chances, and it's paying off in spades. They are playing the best League of any team in the semifinals, and if they keep playing like this, there's no one they can't beat.
Game 4: Gen.G goes down swinging as DRX shocks the world
Gen.G: 1 DRX: 3 (Winner)
In what will be remembered as one of the biggest upsets in semifinals history, the fourth seed of the LCK stuns the number one seeded Gen.G. After an entire season of failing to beat Gen.G, they've now defeated the former World Champions three times in a row at the most important time imaginable.
With the win, Deft advances to the finals for the first time in his career, and he does so in what is likely his final season playing competitively. While Deft may take the headlines for the feel-good story, Pyosik and Zeka are the heroes of the series. DragonX's jungler and mid laner put the team on their backs after a difficult first game and carried them to a showdown with T1 on Saturday.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 30: Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu of DRX (L) and Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk of Gen.G prepare to make a grand entrance at the League of Legends World Championship Semifinals on October 30, 2022, in Atlanta, GA.
Photo by Fernando Decillis/Riot Games
For Gen.G, it'll be a difficult pill to swallow after beating DRX in every game they played this year. However, the former world champs showed they're not going anywhere anytime soon.
What awaits us in San Francisco?
Before today even began, an all South Korean final had already been ensured. So any other region is now watching purely for the entertainment value, and that's the good news. No matter what, we're going to see some high level League of Legends play next weekend. These are teams that know each other, have seen each other many times, and will be in each other's heads.
Even if you can't stomach watching the South Korea Bowl, the opening ceremonies are worth tuning in for alone. Football has the Super Bowl halftime show, and esports has the League of Legends World Championship opening ceremonies. Every year, Riot manages to outdo themselves, and this year should be no different. President of League of Legends, Lil Nas X, will be performing the Worlds 2022 anthem: “STAR WALKIN’" in the opening ceremony. No one does spectacle quite like Riot.
Looking forward to the finals next weekend, the smart money will likely be on T1 Esports to beat DRX soundly. However, that has been the theory behind every matchup DRX has had at Worlds. Each and every time, they've risen to the occasion, gotten better, and beaten their opponents. If wanting it more counts for anything, then no one should pick against DRX.
