In the 2022 World Championship main stage, LCS runners-up 100 Thieves find themselves in what jungler Can “Closer” Çelik believes is the “easiest group”. However, with an easy road comes the fear of sliding to last place in Group D.
100 Thieves narrowly avoided terrifying groups like A—where LCS champs C9 will face T1 and EDG—and Group B. Closer expressed relief at this but also started thinking about the consequences if they fail to perform well.
Closer said, “We have the easiest group of all the groups [at Worlds], but… it will be very embarrassing if we lose. We could lose to the Flying Oysters.”
Another question the team faces is which contender will join them in Group D. Most signs point to MSI champs Royal Never Give Up, who have been seeded into Group B in Play-Ins. They have to face teams from various regions to proceed. China and Korea may seem daunting, but Closer is excited to begin and is especially eager to face Gen.G’s superstar mid laner Chovy.
The World Championship hasn’t even started yet, but Closer and 100 Thieves are already preparing. Unlike previous years, most teams are forgoing a Korean bootcamp in September and instead heading to the States or Mexico. Wildcard teams are already playing on high-level NA servers, and LCK and LPL teams are expected to follow soon. Closer is excited to test his skills against them.
“We are training… we will not go to Korea, but we’re working,” he said.
Riot Games is opening Champions Queue for the League heavyweights, allowing for quality practice. Closer hopes that every major star will join the server in the next two weeks.
“If Faker ends up playing on Champions Queue, that will be really good. Like FACEIT in CS:GO. It will be very cool if all Worlds pros end up playing there.”