The 2022 League of Legends World Championship semifinals are LCK-packed

The Worlds 2022 Quarter Finals are over and we have a very exciting round of semifinals coming our way. Despite all the odds against them, DRX managed the incredible feat of beating the current World Champions EDward Gaming, reverse sweeping them in the best series at Worlds so far. Gen.G is on a trajectory to win Worlds without facing any foreign opponent in a bo5 series, and JDG is the sole non Korean team in the semifinals.

Gen.G vs Damwon KIA
After the first two quarter finals where both finished 3-0, everyone was hoping to see more action in the Korean domestic battle between Gen.G Esports and DWG Kia, and what a series they delivered. 

Starting right away, we had Canyon playing Kayn in the jungle and showcasing why he is the best jungler in the world. With this champion, we also achieved the highest number of champions played at a Worlds tournament, totaling a number of 108 unique characters (picked or banned).

That being said, Gen.G was the better team in the first two games, partially thanks to easier and better drafts to execute. While the series was on its way to another 3-0, ShowMaker pulled an incredible game on Swain, bringing the score to 2-1 and then 2-2 with a great performance by DK who kept Gen.G under control.

In the decisive last game, Canyon pulled out his Kayn again but Chovy and Ruler finally made the step up they needed to take home the victory. The bot lane gap was a little too much for DK and they couldn’t make it up elsewhere on the map. 

Nevertheless, DK had a great showing at Worlds, one of the few teams to beat JDG this year and almost took down the LCK first seed. Unfortunately for them, they were the only LCK seed to not make it into the semifinals.

DRX vs EDG
While we thought the Gen.G vs DK series was going to be the best banger between the quarterfinals, DRX vs EDG turned out to be the real highlight reel. The reigning world champions should’ve had an easy run against the Korean fourth seed and that was the impression after winning Game 1 and especially Game 2 where Deft failed to make the backdoor happen for his team and EDG turned the game in their favor.

When everyone thought EDG would take the series home 3-0, DRX came back to life, taking game 3 in strong fashion. In such a high stakes game, Deft pulled out his Draven, a champion he only played twice in his career until that point.

Game 4 DRX found themselves with a much better draft and Edward Gaming were destroyed by the picking potential of Camille, Sejuani and Ashe. The Chinese team had the immobile Varus as the ADC and he could never dish out his damage as he would’ve wanted, as DRX took EDG to Silver Scrapes and it became mid laner Zeka’s show.

The Korean mid has been underrated for the majority of the season, but the guy is one of the best Akali, Azir and Sylas players of this season. He beat Scout in the 1v1 and proceeded to solo kill him another few times in the series. In the game-deciding teamfight around the Ocean Soul, Pyosik made the crucial steal and Zeka cleaned out the enemy team, picking his first-ever Quadra kill at Worlds and taking down the reigning world Champions.

DRX managed to reverse sweep EDG and become the second-ever team to achieve this feat in Worlds history. From almost missing the LCK Playoffs to Worlds play-ins to a spot at Worlds semifinals, it has been a rollercoaster of a season for Deft and his team. While facing Gen.G will be tough, a victory against them might be the best-ever Cinderella story in League’s history. The 2022 League of Legends World Championship finals are right around the corner, so make sure you check out our League of Legends betting page where you can find all the best sign up offers and free bets available.