The matchups for the 2022 League of Legends World Championship have been determined. At the end of the Group Stage, on Oct. 16, the eight strongest teams were drawn into a single elimination bracket. Here, the teams play best-of-five series to determine who advances to the next round.
The rules for the Knockout Stage draw were simple. First of all, a team that finished first in their group will always face another group’s second-placed team. Secondly, two teams that emerged from the same group cannot be drawn on the same side of the bracket, meaning their next clash can only happen in the Worlds 2022 grand final.
These are the Knockout Stage matchups and dates. All series start at 11 PM CEST.
JD Gaming vs Rogue — Oct. 20
JD Gaming lived up to the excitement an LPL champion generates. They rushed through Group B and looked to become the first Chinese team in Worlds history to go 6-0 in the Group Stage. JDG fell short in their final game against DWG KIA, but immediately redeemed themselves in the tiebreaker game for first seed. JDG’s lineup is stacked with talent, but it is their tenacity as a team that makes them one of the title favorites.
Rogue enjoyed a dream start to the Worlds 2022 Group Stage. They defied the odds and went 3-0, beating Top Esports, DRX and GAM Esports meticulously. But the bubble burst quickly. After the team narrowly clutched a fourth victory by beating GAM again, the team crumbled completely in their rematches against Top Esports and DRX. Rogue has strong lakers, who are accelerated by jungler Kim “Malrang” Geun-seong, but rely on having a good meta read.
T1 vs Royal Never Give Up — Oct. 21
T1 dominated Group A and exited with a 5-1 record. Early on, Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong seemed to have trouble keeping up with the rest of his team. As the tournament progressed, however, the bot laner found his footing and ran circles around his opposition. T1 defeated reigning world champion EDward Gaming twice during the Group Stage and is hunting for the fourth world championship trophy for Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok.
RNG, the reigning MSI champion, walked a long road to the Worlds 2022 Knockout Stage. They barely qualified for the tournament in the first place and, as fourth seed of the LPL, had to go through the Play-In Stage. They made it out quite comfortably, ramping up as the tournament progressed. RNG’s rampage extended to a 5-0 score in Group D. Plagued by illnesses on the team, they conceded a loss to Gen.G in the rematch and in the tiebreaker for first place.
Gen.G vs DWG KIA — Oct. 22
Gen.G drew a lot of attention at the start of Worlds 2022. The team dominated the LCK Summer Split and, as the region’s champion, was seen as a heavy favorite in the title race. Group D didn’t start as planned for Gen.G, though. A loss to RNG and a shaky performance against 100 Thieves made many wonder if the team was up to the task. Gen.G silenced the haters in the second Round Robin, though. All members of the LCK superteam played in harmony and claimed first place.
DWG KIA is not a favorite for the first time in two years. After winning the title in 2020 and reaching the finals in 2021, they entered Worlds as the third seed of the LCK. Although they took some time to warm up, the South Koreans beat G2 and EG with raw skill. Once DWG KIA had found their spot in the tournament, they managed to take a game off LPL champion JD Gaming in Group B.
DRX vs EDward Gaming — Oct. 23
DRX is enjoying a fantastic run through Worlds 2022. As the fourth seed of the LCK they had to fight through the Play-In Stage. They did so with ease, making it out without dropping a game. DRX lost their first game against Rogue in Group C, but came back with a vengeance in the rematch and in the eventual tiebreaker match for first seed. Though DRX top laner Hwang “Kingen” Seong-hoon has shown he can carry, the team mostly relies on the mid lane and bot lane to pop off.
EDWard Gaming, the Worlds 2021 champion, kept itself in the race to defend its title by consistently beating Cloud9 and Fnatic in Group A. Although they came up short against T1 twice, EDG still showed what made them so strong last year. Support Tian “Meiko” Ye haunted his opponents all across the map to enable his carries, Park “Viper” Do-hyeon and Lee “Scout” Ye-chan.
For a full overview of how the Knockout Stage works, read our guide. All series can be watched live on the official LoL Esports site.
