After IG’s defeat by T1 ended their run at 17th place, the 16 main teams for the LoL World Championship have been finalized. Once the matches concluded, the official live draw for the Swiss round’s first stage was held. As everyone knows, LPL got a challenging draw: top seed BLG is matched against 100T, North America’s third seed. Frankly, the pressure on BLG isn’t significant, but Top Esports and AL have it rough with strong opponents in their opening matches.

TES will face G2, and the skill gap between these two teams isn’t huge. Plus, with Top Esports having some international experience boosts, an upset is possible. AL’s first opponent is quite tough; HLE, as the second seed from LCK, is among the top contenders for the championship this year. To win, AL will need to perform well. However, at the previous EWC, Little Panda managed to beat Hanwha, so there’s still a good chance. If they play well, all three teams could come out victorious.

Over in the LCK region, GEN will face PSG where Karsa plays. In their league, PSG couldn’t even beat the Vietnamese team TSW, so facing GEN should be a clear match. T1’s opponent is also strong: the top North American seed FLY. In a BO1 format, I personally think FLY has a good shot because this team is one of the few in the EU and NA regions that plays aggressively and creatively.

KT will compete against Europe’s MKOI. These two teams are quite interesting—they had arranged a scrim before the draw, but after being matched against each other, their coaches immediately canceled it to avoid revealing tactics. Although KT is an LCK team, among these four teams, they have the weakest strength. If BDD doesn’t step up, it will be tough to beat MKOI. It looks like KT could be upset.

The remaining matches include FNC versus CFO, where the all-Chinese roster should have the upper hand. Lastly, VKS will face TSW. Although VKS is from North America, TSW is a strong Vietnamese team; they secured their Worlds spot by beating GAM and even dominated Karsa’s team. If VKS plays well, it could be risky for them, but this match doesn’t attract much attention compared to CFO, which is more anticipated.

LPL’s three matches all have the potential for clean sweeps if they perform well. However, the BO1 format is unpredictable, and weaker teams have a good chance to upset stronger ones. So, the matches must be played carefully. If they rush and give chances, they will likely lose. BLG and TES have years of Worlds experience, so they understand this well. AL, with less international experience, needs to be especially cautious in this regard.

IG has already been eliminated, so the Swiss round draw originally had nothing to do with them. But Doinb, Rookie’s old rival, couldn’t help but mock during his livestream: “Wait, director, there’s a bug, where’s IG? Where did IG go?” Hearing this from him really cracks people up. Even though IG only reached top 17, they still made it to Worlds, so how can Doinb mock them like that?

IG lost to T1, one of the top three strongest teams in LCK. Doinb played an invitational match against LCK’s sixth and seventh-ranked teams and got beaten like bots. The only Vietnamese team he beat was due to the opponent disconnecting, which was a lucky steal. How can he have the nerve to mock IG? If he’s really confident, he should keep competing next year and try to bring NIP to Worlds. Constantly gossiping behind others’ backs is just meaningless.

In conclusion:

Top Esports faces G2, and AL goes against HLE; both matches are very exciting. Although the opponents are strong, our teams aren’t weak either. Hopefully, both teams can win, or at least one secures a victory. If both lose, since there’s no same-region avoidance in the second round, AL might end up facing Top Esports in a domestic showdown—something no one wants to see.

What are your thoughts on Doinb’s comments?

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