League of Legends Worlds 2022 Play-ins kick off with players in isolation with COVID

Anna Bernardo
·Contributor
·3-min read
FNC's entire roster played from an isolation facility on the first day of the Play-Ins. (Photo: Riot Games)
FNC's entire roster played from an isolation facility on the first day of the Play-Ins. (Photo: Riot Games)

The 2022 League of Legends (LoL) World Championship kicked off on Friday (30 September) with the Play-ins Stage in Mexico City, Mexico.

However, the tournament is already experiencing some early issues as players from several teams tested positive for COVID-19.

Before the event started, LoL developer Riot Games announced that players that test positive for the virus would have to play in an isolation facility.

"Our policy states that in the event a competitor returns a positive result for COVID-19 but feels well enough to compete and choose to play, the affected player will play the scheduled match on a LAN network built in the isolation facilities," Riot said in a statement.

The statement also said that players who tested negative would compete from the venue.

This affected the Play-ins schedule, with most games delayed by at least 30 minutes due to difficulty setting up the LAN networks in the isolation facilities.

Which teams were affected?

From the LoL European Championship (LEC), both third seed Fnatic and fourth seed MAD Lions were affected.

Two members of MAD Lions tested positive for COVID-19 and had to play in isolation, while the other three played onstage. (Photo: Riot Games)
Two members of MAD Lions tested positive for COVID-19 and had to play in isolation, while the other three played onstage. (Photo: Riot Games)

Bot laner William "UNF0RGIVEN" Nieminen and jungler Javier "Elyoya" Prades Batalla from MAD Lions tested positive along with their coach and two other staff members, though the team confirmed in a tweet that "all of them are in good condition".

Despite this, MAD Lions won their first two games against homecourt champions Isurus and Turkish Championship League (TCL) representative Istanbul Wildcats.

Fnatic's bot lane duo, Elias "Upset" Lipp and Zdravets "Hylissang" Iliev Galabov, both tested positive for COVID-19 just six days before the Play-ins.

At the last minute, however, the two players produced negative tests, with Upset able to compete in Mexico and Hylissang to follow the day after.

Fnatic notably had to field Rúben "Rhuckz" Barbosa as the team's starting support on Day 1.

Fnatic competed with Upset on Day 1[not in photo] after he recovered from COVID-19, but the entire team had to play in isolation because several members also caught the virus. (Photo: RIot Games)
Fnatic competed with Upset on Day 1[not in photo] after he recovered from COVID-19, but the entire team had to play in isolation because several members also caught the virus. (Photo: RIot Games)

On the same day, however, the LEC third seed also confirmed on social media that the entire team would play in isolation because several other players also tested positive.

However, Fnatic still dominated Group A, winning against North America's Evil Geniuses (EG) and Istanbul Wildcats, with Rhuckz even clocking in the highest KDA of the first day of the tournament.

Three members of DetonatioN FocusMe have tested positive and the entire team had to play in isolation (Photo: Riot Games)
Three members of DetonatioN FocusMe have tested positive and the entire team had to play in isolation (Photo: Riot Games)

Three members from Japanese team DetonatioN FocusMe also tested positive, and the entire team had to play in isolation.

The team didn't confirm which players tested positive.

DFM lost their game against Chief Esports on Day 1.

Two from Chief Esports are playing from isolation. (Photo: Riot Games)
Two from Chief Esports are playing from isolation. (Photo: Riot Games)

For LoL Circuit Oceania (LCO) champions Chief Esports Club, only three players played on stage, with jungler Park "Arthur" Mi-reu and mid laner James "Tally" Shute playing in isolation.

DRX's starting roster tested negative, with only their coach, Lee "Mowgli" Jae-ha testing positive and participating in isolation.

The entire roster of DRX tested negative, but they had to communicate with their coach remotely because he tested positive for COVID-19. (Photo: Riot Games)
The entire roster of DRX tested negative, but they had to communicate with their coach remotely because he tested positive for COVID-19. (Photo: Riot Games)

The Worlds 2022 Play-in Stage will continue until Tuesday (4 October) at the Arena Esports Stadium (LLA Studio) in Artz Pedregal in Mexico City, Mexico.

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.

For more esports news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooEsportsSEA and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page and Twitter, as well as our Gaming channel on YouTube.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories