September is one of the saddest months of the year. Green Day already said it in his famous Wake me up when September ends . The end of summer, of free time, of spontaneous get-togethers with friends and endless trips collide with the irruption of routine, of classes, of work… But there is an event that changes everything, that makes future more bearable of the first days of autumn and that even makes us forget the summer season: the Worlds 2022, the most lauded trophy in the world of esports and the quintessential event in the sector.
And once all the major continental competitions have finished, we now know who the major participants will be and the approximate times at which the contest will be held, in which a total of 24 teams will participate. One of the great news in this regard is that Europe will have one more team -although only two, G2 and Rogue, go directly to the final phase-, since the Russian competition has been suspended and Riot Games has decided to give it to Europe as a reward to his latest performances.
Precisely the gift of an extra place for the European continent is an unusual event for the Spanish ecosystem: for the first time since the World Cups we will have three players born on our borders : Razork (Fnatic), Elyoya (MAD Lions) and Flakked (G2), although only the latter has secured a pass to the main phase.
Stay in this report to know everything more in depth!
Worlds 2022 guide: dates, teams, groups…
Date and places where the Worlds 2022 are played
For the first time after many years being held in Asia and Europe, the tournament returns to North America, specifically to the United States and Mexico , which will share the 4 venues where the matches will be played. In Mexico City, at the Arena Esports Stadium, the access phase to Worlds 2022 will be held between September 29 and October 4 .
Two European teams are at stake: Fnatic will seek to repeat once again participation in the final round starting from group A, where they will face the Taiwanese Beyond Gaming, the Japanese DetonatioN FocusMe, the American Evil Geniuses, the Brazilian LOUD and the Australian Chiefs Esports Club. On the other hand, MAD Lions will try to achieve the same goal, but with a much more complicated path, that of group B, formed by the Korean DRX, the Chinese RNG, the Vietnamese Saigon Buffalo, the Turkish Istanbul Wildcats and the Argentine Isurus.
The group stage and the quarterfinals will take place in New York at the Hulu Theaters. The first will be played from October 7 to 16, while the playoffs will start on October 20 and end on October 23. The semifinals will be held in Atlanta, at the State Farm Arena, from October 29 to 30, and the final will be held on October 5. November at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
League of Legends Worlds 2022 groups
As we explained before, of the 4 Europeans, only 2 have their place guaranteed in the final phase . Fnatic has a lot of ballots to move forward and MAD Lions will have to fight against several giants to achieve it. Even so, the draw has already been made, leaving a free space in each of the groups for the winners of the play-in , which would be as follows:
- In group A will be the North American champions Cloud9, the South Koreans T1 and the Chinese Edward Gaming
- In group B we will have our representatives, G2, fighting for a place against the Chinese champions JD Gaming and the South Koreans DWG KIA
- In Group C , European champions Rogue will take on China’s Top Esports and Vietnamese champions GAM Esports.
- Group D will include South Korean champion Gen.G, Taiwanese CTBC Flying Oyster and North American runner-up 100 Thieves.
A priori , G2 has it more complicated than Rogue , since they will face two tough nuts to crack: JDG has shown excessive superiority in their competition and with DWG they have a historical rivalry where they have always been losing. For his part, Rogue arrives in the wake of her first continental championship and the emotional boost that comes with it, plus his group doesn’t seem that complicated in the first place.
