Top 5 Most Surprising Things At Worlds

Now that the dust has started to settle on the best Worlds in recent history, let's take a look at some of the most surprising aspects of the tournament.

The Winners

Suffice to say that nobody predicted DRX to take the trophy back to Korea. After barely qualifying for the LCK Summer Playoffs with a 50% win rate, nobody expected much from Korea's fourth seed compared to the likes of Gen.G and T1.

DRX started the tournament from the Play-Ins stage and were doubted at every single stage, but time and time again they proved they were not to be underestimated. Their victory was a heroic underdog's tale, and a crowning moment for Deft after a career spanning nearly 10 years. His story and dedication are nothing less than inspirational.

Champion Diversity

With a total of 109 champions being picked and banned throughout the tournament, this was by far the most diverse meta we'd seen at Worlds. This created a dynamic and perpetually evolving meta, with the priority on champions and team comps shifting as we transitioned from each stage to the next.

One of the more welcome surprises was when Ashe/Heimerdinger bot emerged halfway through groups, who stomped lanes with their long-range CC and poke. This duo was so strong it started drawing bans, which nobody would have expected at the beginning of the tournament.

Yuumi

The hateful cat that just won't go away was running wild at Worlds. Pros and fans alike were hopeful that the nerfs to her E before Worlds would prevent her from making an appearance, but this wasn't to be. She immediately received a Q damage buff to compensate, and the artillerly Q spam build was back.

Just like other enchanters, Yuumi wasn't present much during the play-ins stage. But from the group stage onward, she had a disgusting 95% pick/ban rate and a 100% win rate in the 8 games she was picked. How many more tournaments will continue to be skewered by Yuumi until she receives a much needed rework?

Stopwatch

In patch 12.17, the cost of Stopwatch was increased from 650 to 750 gold. This drastic increase in price led to fewer pros being able to pick up a Stopwatch for critical team fights, unless they were already building it for a core item (like Zhonya's).

Consequently, team fights were much quicker and more punishing, with pros having less opportunities to get out of a sticky situation with a quick Stopwatch. This change was most noticable when comparing fights to playoffs, when some fights felt a little anti-climatic if they could be diffused with a quick Stopwatch.

A Western Team in Quarters

Heading in Worlds, it was expected that the LCK and LPL would dominate; the LEC and LCS were looking weaker than previous years, and there were a total of 8 teams representing the East.

Therefore, it was shocking when the LEC got off to such a flying start. RGE and FNC were fantastic in week 1 and looked like they could make it through to the quarters. Even though both teams slumped in week 2, it was still surprising RGE qualified for the quarter-finals and a Western team actually made it out of groups.

Summary

Worlds 2022 was by far one of the best in League's history, and a tournament fitting for the long-awaited return of crowds. The question is whether next year's will be able to top it?