COMMENT: 2022's League of Legends Worlds grand finals was the best one yet

The League of Legends (LoL) World Championship, more commonly known as Worlds, is my favourite esports event every year. I love the hype, the stories, the music, the videos, the tweets, and most especially, the competition.

Yearly, I root for my favourite team and a couple of underdogs that I think might make it. But this year's tournament was extra special for me and many players and fans. Usually, what makes me so hyped about the event is the opening ceremony, but from start to finish (almost), everything seemed to have fallen into place like a movie.

And while some things could have been better, I think the Worlds 2022 grand finals was the best one in the history of the tournament so far. But don't just take my word for it, let's go through everything that went into this grand spectacle.

Best opening ceremony…? It depends

I wasn’t present at the Chase Center for the finals. But the opening ceremony for Worlds usually delivers the same magic on stream, so I wasn’t too worried.

I was wrong there. Folks on Twitter were divided about it: those who watched it live thought it was magic, while those who watched the stream thought it was “just okay.”

According to a report by Dot Esports, the stage build was “the most ambitious” ever attempted by LoL developer Riot Games. It was divided into three acts: LoL’s season-opening song The Call, Jackson Wang’s psychedelic Fire to the Fuse performance, then Lil Nas X’s Star Walkin’.

There were holograms of champions on stage, including the humongous Azir that carried Lil Nas X at the end.

However, when viewed online, the colours of the holograms were a bit washed out on camera, and the screen divisions were pretty obvious. That’s understandable, given the limitations of current technology.

But the online experience was also hampered by the camera's direction, focusing too long on the artists, and made it obvious it was lip-synced. Few champions like Kaisa, Lux, Pyke, and K’sante were barely featured. We want to see the champions too!

The opening also did little to recap the exciting moments of the tournament except to feature the logos of the teams. It felt more like a Superbowl performance than a Worlds opening, and that's not exactly a compliment when you're talking about esports events.

While Superbowl performances are great, the opening of Worlds is different because of its audience.

LoL, or any other esports title for that matter, is not about the popular kids on the block vibing to have a great time at a concert.

There are aspects of the game and the tournament that needed to be featured more. It’s a celebration of the game!

Perhaps that’s why I didn’t get goosebumps, like I usually do every Worlds opening ceremony.

Thankfully, the rest of the experience (including the pre-show) made up for it.

Worlds 2022 had the best Worlds meta

If you’ve been following the LoL esports scene, there’s always a handful of champions with the highest pick and ban rates at Worlds.

Most of the time, it comes to a point where winning and losing may or may not be determined by who picked Lee Sin again this time, or who’s better at Sivir, Zeri, or Jinx.

With Riot's recent changes with the Durability Update in Spring and multiple reworks, the Worlds meta kept evolving every series.

Although there were mainstays throughout the competition like Aatrox (why did you not ban Aatrox, T1?), Azir, Viego, Sylas, and the forever banned Caitlyn, it felt like the teams were able to incorporate very diverse picks throughout different stages of the competition.

It was a shame that we didn’t see Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok’s off-meta Ryze in action in the finals, but he had to be banned in the finals by DRX.

Zeus’ Yone impacted the Knockout stage and it delivered in the first game of the finals. We even saw Zeus Y.O.L.O. in the last game, picking Gwen to counter Aatrox (to be fair, he and Hwang “Kingen” Seong-hoon dished the most damage out in that game).

In the jungle, Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon wanted to bring out Kindred, his favourite champion, but T1 knowing the threat of the Eternal Hunters in than hands of Pyosik, banned it three times.

Then, we saw the shift of the Worlds meta to favour Varud and Renata Glasc.

But DRX’s Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee had creative Support picks like the Heimerdinger that made life hell for Gen.G in the semis and a curveball Bard to go with an out-of-nowhere Hecarim pick for Pyosik in the last game.

I didn’t imagine the drafting phase would be as exciting as the games themselves, so thank you, Riot, for making this meta possible.

Best gameplay and playmaking

Who wants to watch perfect LoL?

Certainly not me. Even if my favourite teams are winning and playing perfectly like robots, I feel so bad when the opponents don't get a chance or when it looks like someone just stumbling throughout the match.

But this year’s meta allowed the game conditions to be less snowbally.

The Durability Update gave more balance to the champions, while the comeback factor from objective bounties wasn’t too tide-changing.

This made matches more exciting, with scrappy tactics from different teams here and there.

In return, viewers are rewarded with plenty of heart-stopping, adrenaline-inducing playmaking from both teams.

The five-game series were full of this. Just when you think one of the teams got it in the bag, a player would make a mistake or do otherwise: Oner or Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong’s Varus would steal the Baron, Kim “Zeka” Geon-woo would turn the fight around, or Kingen would find another cheeky angle.

It’s just so relatable and so exciting, making every game a must-watch.

However, in game three, an Azir bug made an appearance.

Thankfully, T1 won the match, so "it didn’t matter", but Riot should do something about it before the next esports season.

Best team and player narratives

The Worlds 2022 finals had the biggest underdog story of all time, it felt like an epic anime arc or a K-drama worth binging.

DRX, a team that placed 10th in the LoL Korea Championship Spring regular season, had the entire world doubt that they could make Worlds.

From being 5th place in the LCK Summer regular season, and then 6th place in the Playoffs, the team defied expectations for the final LCK spot into Worlds.

Some even doubted they’d make it out of Play-ins, but they did. Then, they were the team that looked like they wouldn't make it out of Groups on paper either, yet they again proved their doubters wrong.

At every stage of the competition, DRX broke perfect Pick Ems, making it out each time, eliminating regional champions and world champions along the way.

Leading DRX was Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu, who’s been on a journey to win Worlds for over 10 years. On the brink of retirement, Deft competed for his first World title.

On the way, he defeated former teammates and friends: Lee “Scout” Ye-chan and Tian “Meiko” Ye, who became World champions after he left EDG, LCK Summer Champion Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon, who was his teammate for years, and in the finals, DRX’s former support, Ryu “Keria” Min-seok.

Keria had promised Deft the Worlds trophy before the veteran retired, but both didn’t expect it to be under these circumstances.

If that’s not a great story, I don’t know what is.

And while I don’t think any other finals matchup would top the Worlds 2022, I look forward to being proven wrong in the future.

Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee. Views expressed are the writer's own.

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