Four Korean teams remain and Cloud9 represent NA’s last hope at Worlds quarterfinals

After a couple weeks of play-in and group stage action, the bracket stage is ready to kick off at the League of Legends World Championship on Friday at 8 a.m. ET.

As always, the group stage delivered grand upsets in the form of Worlds favorite FunPlus Phoenix dropping out at 2-4 as well as untouchable dominance with DWG KIA remaining undefeated at 6-0. Cloud9 even put together a bit of a redemption campaign, striking back from an 0-3 week to qualify as North America’s first Worlds knockout representative since 2018. The group stage was exciting, but the quarterfinals are where the magic starts to happen -- it’s the first big step toward crowning a champion and each team is hoping to continue writing their story.

T1 vs. Hanwha Life Esports

Friday at 8 a.m. ET

Photo credit: Riot Games

Similar to the first quarterfinal matchup, T1 vs. Hanwha Life Esports is an interregional battle between two League of Legends Championship Korea (LCK) teams. Hanwha Life Esports narrowly missed out on the first-place seed in Group C and are itching for a rematch with the dominant T1. These two teams last faced off in this year’s LCK regional finals, where T1 won 3-2, staving off Hanwha Life Esports’ near reverse-sweep for the third LCK seed. HLE nearly captured lightning in a bottle to force T1 into the play-in stage, but T1’s early game was far too consistent at the end of the series.

At the center of T1 is mid laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, who despite playing since 2013, remains the bonafide star and face of the team and franchise in general. Faker isn’t necessarily a dominant mid laner, but he’s endlessly flexible in the draft phase and difficult to break without heavy focus from the opposing jungler and support. In a matchup with arguably the best mid laner at worlds, HLE’s Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon, Faker remains the key for his team’s success this quarterfinal, as the expected favorite to advance to the semifinals.

Hanwha Life Esports originally came into Worlds as a complete underdog after qualifying as the LCK’s eighth-place team, with many pundits pointing to the region’s lack of depth. However, their performances in the play-in and group stage have proven that they’re here to win -- and they’re only getting stronger. Chovy is often pinned as the most important facet of HLE, but the team’s success has largely revolved around top laner Park “Morgan” Gi-Tae and jungler Kim “Willer” Jeong-hyeon defying expectations with strong individual performances. T1’s pedigree might be too much in the end for Hanwha Life Esports, but this series will certainly be a close one.

Royal Never Give Up vs. EDward Gaming

Saturday at 8 a.m. ET

Photo credit: Riot Games

The League of Legends Pro League (LPL) appeared to be the strongest region in the world heading into Worlds, but only two of the region’s finest were able to make it into the quarterfinals. Royal Never Give Up and EDward Gaming are set to square off in an all-LPL quarterfinal, with the winner being a likely favorite to advance to the final. Due to Royal Never Give Up’s early playoff loss in the summer against LNG Esports -- the fourth LPL seed, which was eliminated in Group D earlier this week -- the two teams haven’t played since July 18, when EDward Gaming won 2-0. A lot has changed since then, and the Worlds meta is in full swing.

Royal Never Give Up’s approach at Worlds thus far can be summed up with two terms: Li “Xiaohu” Yuan-Hao and Twisted Fate. Xiaohu continues to be the backbone of Royal Never Give Up in the top lane, often receiving favorable carry matchups in the draft phase. Meanwhile, Twisted Fate has been the key to all of Yuan “Cryin” Cheng-wei’s success in the mid lane, enabling him to be more of an early and mid game playmaker. Royal Never Give Up have looked far worse without Cryin on Twisted Fate, so the pick is likely to be locked down by EDward Gaming for the entirety of the series.

EDward Gaming’s approach to the Worlds meta is similarly narrow to Royal Never Give Up, but comes at a more traditional point of power -- Park “Viper” Do-hyeon at AD carry. EDward Gaming lost a key seed-deciding match against 100 Thieves, but otherwise, looked like the strongest team in Group B for most of their games, and most of that is thanks to Viper’s domination in the bot lane. Given Royal Never Give Up’s slower approach to the bot lane as well as their LPL champion status, Viper and EDward Gaming come in as clear favorites to advance to the semifinals.

DWG KIA vs. MAD Lions

Sunday at 8 a.m. ET

Photo credit: Riot Games

Which team is being sacrificed to DWG KIA? That’s what most people were asking themselves leading up to the quarterfinal draw earlier this week. DWG KIA were the only team to finish their group with a perfect 6-0 record, while their opponent, MAD Lions, battled until the very last match to represent Europe’s last hope. DWG KIA and MAD Lions last faced each other in a tight 3-2 series win for DWG KIA at the Mid-Season Invitational earlier this year, but the South Korean champion seems to be on another level at Worlds.

Last year, DWG KIA dominated the competition to the point where nobody was surprised they lifted the Summoner’s Cup. This time around, DWG KIA have to prove they can continue to maintain that form in a completely different meta. DWG KIA dominated what turned out to be a weak group, but their mid and late game remained impenetrable with mid laner Heo “Showmaker” Su continuing to lead the charge. The team’s early game can still be suspect at times, but the team is dynamic enough to hold strong, especially with AD carry Jang “Ghost” Yang-jun stepping up his game after being seen as a liability at this year’s Mid-Season Invitational.

MAD Lions face DWG KIA as Europe’s only remaining team, making their performance do or die for the region’s hope at Worlds. MAD Lions were able to match DWG KIA well at MSI earlier this year, but the trajectory of the two teams certainly favors DWG KIA. MAD Lions’ greatest strengths lie in their mid and late game teamfighting, but hoping to defeat DWG KIA at their own game is a tall task. Rallying behind mid laner Marek “Humanoid” Brázda in the early game will probably be the team’s best shot at leveraging a solid mid game lead before teamfighting with one of the best teams in the world.

Gen.G vs. Cloud9

Monday at 8 a.m. ET

Photo credit: Riot Games

In a matchup where both teams couldn’t be more happy to face off against each other, Gen.G and Cloud9 stand out as two of the weakest teams remaining at Worlds. The last time these two organizations faced off was at the 2018 world championship where Cloud9 defeated Gen.G (who finished 1-5) in the group stage before eventually reaching the semifinals. This time around, both teams will be looking to prove that they deserve to continue their Worlds journey by leapfrogging the other.

Gen.G showed infinite potential during the group stage, with mid laner Gwak “Bdd” Bo-seong and AD carry Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk individually outclassing their opponents and single-handedly carrying games. On the other hand, Gen.G had a knack for falling apart when it mattered most, losing one-sided mid and late game scenarios. It’s that inconsistency that led the team to a 3-3 record and to be part of the first-ever four-way tie in Worlds history. Talent will never be a problem for Gen.G, but their general indecisiveness might cost them against a team as resilient and aggressive as Cloud9.

Cloud9 managed to save North America’s reputation by advancing from Group A with a 2-4 record, staving off Rogue and the floundering FunPlus Phoenix. It’s clear that Cloud9 benefited from FunPlus Phoenix being unable to win a single game during the second round robin, but their form remained steady against group winners DWG KIA. Jungler Robert “Blaber” Huang might very well be the best North American player of all time, and his performances will make or break Cloud9 in the organization’s bid to reach its second Worlds semifinal.

Lead photo credit: Riot Games