Right after the end of Group D, the qualified teams were drawn: T1, JDG, DRX and Gen.G were the number one seeds from their respective groups, while Edward Gaming, DWG KIA, Rogue, and Royal Never Give Up finished second. The top 8 teams will have to fight in a single-elimination, king of the hill format, in best-of-five series to become the World Champions.
We will be breaking down every quarter finals series from here onwards, starting off with the most important one for western fans: Rogue vs JDG. Will RGE beat the LPL first seed or will it be eastern domination at Worlds 2022?
JDG, the Chinese overlords
JD Gaming has been a dominant presence at the World Championship so far. They went 3-0 in the first round robin of Group B, then lost to DK in their last match before getting back at them in the tiebreaker for first place. The Chinese team never looked bad and despite some minor mistakes, they always looked under control.
What makes the team so strong this year is undoubtedly their top side: Yagao, Kanavi and 369 make a formidable and strong trio of carry players. All three of them have the potential of playing both utility and damage-oriented champions at the highest level of proficiency, which makes JDG’s drafts very variable and hard to counter. Aside from Yagao who played Sylas 4 times so far, the rest of the JDG squad have played at least 5 unique champions each.
Rogue, the last hope for the West
JDG will be going up against RGE, the only western team that made it into the top 8. The LEC first seed had made the esports enthusiasts excited for them after their great 3-0 start, but their hopes have been debunked after the second round robin.
Despite making it into the Knockout stage, RGE’s performance wasn’t as strong as the first round robin, losing to both DRX and TES. Not only that, but DRX is likely the weakest team among the four LCK teams and RGE lost to them twice the other day. (they played the tiebreaker for first place)
It seems like the teams have started getting used to playing against Rogue and found ways to counter them in their own game. The LEC team is known for wanting to play through early actions with Malrang. When they aren’t able to find the advantage, the team then struggles to transition into the mid and late game. RGE don’t excel at flipping fights and prefer to play through objectives and fights: when on even terms, though, these require a lot of mechanical prowess and the west can’t really match the top eastern teams.On a good day, Rogue can go up against some of the best teams in the world, but everything must go right for them and it’s hard to expect that to happen against a solid team like JDG. The 2022 League of Legends World Championship knockout stage is about to begin, 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.
