Western League of Legends Teams Face Tough Challenge at World Championship
Fans are once again skeptical about the performance of Western League of Legends teams at this year’s World Championship. In a thread on Reddit, users discussed the potential success of these teams against their Eastern counterparts.
Unfortunately, the general consensus is not optimistic. However, this is not because Western teams are necessarily bad. It’s simply because the Eastern teams are exceptionally strong.
A Reddit user named Akamiso29 summed it up by saying, “The West will probably struggle as usual. Their quality has improved, but the East is currently dominating the scene.”
In recent years, Eastern teams have consistently dominated international League of Legends competitions. The last time a Western team won Worlds was in 2011, before the Eastern teams were even invited. Since then, Western teams have failed to come close to victory.
At last year’s World Championship, seven out of the eight teams in the bracket stage were from Korea or China. The only Western team to reach the quarterfinals was Rogue, who were swiftly eliminated by JD Gaming. North American teams had a particularly disappointing performance, losing nine consecutive games in the group stage.
This year, the gap between the East and West has continued to widen. At the MSI tournament, six of the top eight teams were from the East. The Grand Finals also featured a matchup between two Eastern teams.
Some fans believe that it would be a miracle for a Western team to reach the knockout stage. The overall sentiment is that outside of G2, no Western team is expected to win against Asian opponents.
Recent Decline in Western Teams’ Performance
The decline in Western teams’ performance at international events has been evident over the past five seasons. In 2018, three out of the four semifinalists were from the West. However, there have been no Western teams in the semifinals in the last two years.
Currently, eight teams have been confirmed for Worlds 2023, including four Chinese teams and three North American teams. Representatives from Korea and Europe are expected to be confirmed soon.
In addition, there will be a “grudge match” between the fourth-place teams from North America and Europe to determine an extra participant in Worlds. Golden Guardians have already secured their spot in this event.
Given the one-sided record between the East and West in recent years, this grudge match could be the most exciting series of the tournament for both regions.
Western League of Legends, World Championship, Eastern teams, performance, international events, semifinalists, grudge match