League of Legends Worlds 2022: 5 players you should be watching in the Group Stage
The Group stage of the 2022 League of Legends (LoL) World Championship has just begun.
With only sixteen teams remaining, the best of the best are going head-to-head for a chance to raise the Summoner’s Cup and the lion’s share of US$2,225,000.
While there are many stellar players across all regions, there are some players we think might have the chance to shine and be the winning factor for their teams.
Here are the players to watch out for in the Worlds 2022 Group Stage.
Malrang - Rogue (Jungler)
When Kim "Malrang" Geun-seong signed with Rogue late last year, there was a lot of doubt.
After all, he was only a substitute player in DAMWON KIA Gaming (DWG KIA) and is relatively unknown in the LoL Champions Korea (LCK). However, it seems like Rogue made the right choice in bringing him to the team.
His aggressive, decisive playstyle paid off in the LoL European Championship (LEC) Summer Playoffs, where he was able to effectively rotate around the map, open tons of opportunities for his team, and take advantage of his position in ganking the enemy.
This is also Malrang’s first showing at Worlds, and we think he has a chance to shine in Groups.
Chovy – Gen.G (Mid)
Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon has always been an exceptional player, and last Summer, he just showed how good he was again, ending up getting one of the highest KDAs in the regular season.
In fact, his consistently strong performance gained him a strong following called the “Church of Chovy”.
While he doesn’t always have flashy plays, he’s always incredible in the laning phase.
Even former World champions like Heo “Showmaker” Su of DWG KIA and LoL GOAT Lee “Faker” Sang Hyeok have acknowledged Chovy and Gen.G’s strong performance in the Summer.
While this isn’t his first rodeo, it is the first time his team is participating as their region’s first seed.
Should he and the entire Gen.G continue to play with good synergy and discipline, they have a good shot of winning it all.
Zeus – T1 (Top Lane)
This young top laner has been showing a lot of promise all season.
And while T1 weren't as stellar in Summer, the performance of Choi "Zeus" Woo-je was the most consistent in his team and was T1's saving grace. In the last split, Zeus was just behind Doran in gold per minute and damage per minute.
Zeus' playmaking has saved his team multiple times from disaster and brought them to the LCK Summer Grand Finals. If he can replicate that at Worlds, we may see T1 back in Worlds Grand Finals once again.
With that said, this will be Zeus’ first time participating at Worlds, so it remains to be seen if he can overcome the nerves from playing in the biggest stage in LoL esports and help his team succeed.
JackyLove – Top Esports (Bot lane)
Many LoL Pro League (LPL) fans will remember Yu “JackeyLove” Wen-Bo for his blunder in the LPL Summer Grand Finals when he dashed into JD Gaming, costing his team the LPL Summer title.
Despite this, no one can deny his strong performance the entire Summer. In the regular season, he had the highest damage per minute at 723, and second in the Playoffs, dealing 772 damage per minute.
JackeyLove has been a huge factor on why Top Esports made it to the LPL Summer Grand Finals.
His ultra-aggressive playstyle may just be the edge Top Esports needs to win it this year.
He just needs to make sure to be more thorough and careful with his positioning to avoid making unnecessary mistakes.
Lehends – Gen.G (Support)
Son “Lehends” Si-woo was never the fantastic laner like T1's Ryu "Keria" Min-seok or the frontline-accessing support player like EDward Gaming's Tian "Meiko" Ye.
However, even before he joined Gen.G, he’s been infamous for his innovative and unconventional support picks.
Support Singed is something only he can pull off in pro play or solo queue, and he was also one of the first pros to unleash Yuumi’s playmaking potential.
He’s always cooking something up in between competitions, experimenting on what might give his team that curveball pick that they would need to win against their competition.
We’re eager to see what innovations he will introduce to Worlds this year.
The Worlds 2022 Group stage will continue until 10 October, and resume on 13-16 October. You can catch the action in Worlds 2022 on the official LoL YouTube and Twitch channels as well as the LoL esports page.
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.
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