The 2022 League of Legends World Championship was rough for North American and European teams. A combined seven teams took to battle in the Group Stage and, after eight days of competition, only LEC champion Rogue made it to the top eight. It’s a historic low point. For 100 Thieves jungler Can “Closer” Çelik, it became abundantly clear that his team was simply no match for the Chinese and South Korean powerhouses.
After being eliminated from Worlds 2022, Closer spoke to Em Dash to reflect on the Group Stage. He discussed his team’s strategy heading into the final day and how they prepared for the rematches in Group D. Closer also looked back at his achievements in 2022 with 100 Thieves.
The final Worlds 2022 games
It’s an unfortunate end to Worlds 2022, Closer. You had a steep hill to climb heading into the final day, of course, but you walked away with a win and played a very close game against RNG. Considering it all, how do you feel?
Hm, I mean, we started in a good way. The game against Oyster was pretty much a stomp, which should have happened as well when we played against them the first time. The RNG game was very, very close. I would say that, if everyone played slightly better, we would win that game. I think the Gen.G game was just embarrassing. [Laughs] I don’t think I’ve played a more embarrassing game in my life, to be honest.
When you faced Gen.G, you knew you were out of the tournament. Did that play a role in the performance, you think?
Well, not to blame anything on my teammates, but we wanted to play Aphelios versus Lucian/Nami, and I think that didn’t go well. We were not quite ready for the matchup and we couldn’t really play the map after what happened on the bot side.
“When you play in the LEC and LCS, you just watch LPL and LCK and try to learn something from them. You copy their draft strategy and when you try to play against them at Worlds, you try to play their game. But they are just better at their own game.”
What did your other preparation look like for the rematches? What were the takeaways from the first Round Robin you played?
Obviously, 0-3 was a very bad start. But if you go and look at our games, I think we could win against RNG and Gen.G in the first games. In both games, it was like a third-drake fight that went in their favor and they snowballed from there, pretty much. We knew that we could play better versus Oyster. So, we were in a pretty bad situation and we said, “Let’s just take it game by game.” We wanted to build our momentum through the Oysters game, which happened, and the RNG game was very close. But we just couldn’t make it. We knew what we wanted to do against RNG. We didn’t really create a new strategy because we had decided what our bans and draft would look like.
Why the LPL and LCK are so far ahead of the LEC and LCS
You’re now at your second world championship, again representing 100 Thieves. It feels that, this year, EU and NA have fallen behind Korea and China a lot. How do you compare Worlds 2022 to last year’s edition?
Yeah, I mean, it’s just obvious that there is a big gap between the Asian teams and the other regions right now. I’m not sure what to think about it. It’s too soon to think about it. But the results are just sad.
For me, when I watched LPL and LCK, and then my league, I always thought that they were much, much better. I still think they’re pretty good, and they are better, but I don’t think they’re that much better. When I played against them in Champion’s Queue or in scrims, I’m not that much worse than them. That gave me a new perspective on the game. But as a team, they are just much stronger I think.
“I came into the league and nobody really respected me at the beginning. I fought my way through and I had an amazing Playoffs performance.”
I’ve heard a few people say that they had close scrims against LPL and LCK, and we’ve seen that EU and NA can definitely push them. Cloud9, Fnatic, Rogue, you guys… There have been close games. But why is it that the LPL and LCK teams are that much better at securing the victory in those close games?
I feel like, when you play in the LEC and LCS, you just watch LPL and LCK and try to learn something from them. You copy their draft strategy and when you try to play against them at Worlds, you try to play their game. But they are just better at their own game. Rogue kept their own formula, with the Malrang playstyle and how they want to play around Odoamne and Comp, and that’s what worked for them in Week 1. They kept their own identity. Other teams don’t really have that, I would say.
So not having an identity hurt 100 Thieves?
Nah, I think we are just not good enough to beat these teams, to be honest. We are playing against Gen.G and RNG, who are both very, very good teams. We are not as good of a team as they are. It’s that simple. We don’t really have an excuse.
Reflecting on 2022
Despite not winning the LCS in 2022, 100 Thieves had quite a successful year I’d say. You made it to two finals and to Worlds. How do you look back at the year?
Hm, my head is full of thoughts right now. Yes, we made three finals in a row. Compared to how I started… I came into the league and nobody really respected me at the beginning. I fought my way through and I had an amazing Playoffs performance. I kind of 1v9’d every single game. But after that, there are two 0-3 finals and Worlds didn’t go well as well. I’ll have to think about what I can do better.
Do you have any closing words for the 100 Thieves fans, Closer?
They definitely spoiled us throughout the journey. I want to thank them so much. We had very bad games and they still supported us. [Laughs] They supported us no matter what. I’m very grateful for them and I hope I can do better in the future.
Worlds 2022 continues its Knockout Stage on Oct. 22 at 11 PM CEST, with Gen.G playing against DWG KIA. You can find the full schedule here. All series can be watched live on the official LoL Esports site.
