After a grueling fight in the Play-In stage that lasted seven days, four teams made it through to complete the group stage. Europe’s Fnatic and Korea’s DRX qualified first after topping their respective groups, followed by China’s Royal Never Give Up and North America’s Evil Geniuses.
This year’s Worlds group stage could be one of the most competitive in the history of the competition. Group A has the 2017 flashback with Cloud9, EDG, and T1, Group B with a JD Gaming/DWG KIA/G2 Esports reunion, as well as the return of Vietnam’s GAM Esports. Group D is the only one not regarded as a group of death, with a distinct chasm between the top 2 teams, Gen.G and Royal Never Give Up, and the bottom 2, CTBC Flying Oysters and 100 Thieves.
Despite the differences, potential upsets still could happen in a best-of-one game, and the playoff picture could look vastly different from what fans expected.
The first week of the Group stage has concluded and we’re going to look at each team, analyze their performances in the groups and take a look at some of the more interesting, enticing, or exciting betting odds on EsportsBet.
DRX made a surprise return to Worlds this year, with many predicting that they would fail to qualify due to mediocre performances throughout the year. But their victory from the regional qualifiers, as well as their strong Play-In performance, shows that there is something special about this team that might surprise everyone. Zeka and Deft should be on everyone’s radar whenever DRX play.
DRX managed to win two of their group matches and only lost to Rogue securing a decent chance of qualifying for playoffs and moving closer to the crown. As result, their outright odds improved a lot.
Verdict: Huge odds that need to be monitored.
People have lower expectations towards Fnatic than they once did, considering what happened to them right before the Worlds 2022 started with a lack of scrims and last-minute substitutes. But just like DRX, their Play-In stage performance shows that Fnatic shouldn’t be underestimated. Both Humanoid and Upset will be their key pieces in the group stage, just like in the Play-In stage.
Their rolling train hasn’t stopped in the group stage either, with Fnatic managing to take a game off T1 and make Group A a three-team tie after the first round of matches concluded. Their odds of winning Worlds have improved a lot but, they’re still very much an outside shot.
Verdict: Huge odds that need to be monitored.
Rogue was finally able to overcome the label of playoff choke artists by winning their first LEC title in the Summer against G2 Esports. Despite the result, Rogue still needed to prove themselves on the world stage as many still doubted them. However, unlike last year, this year might be easier for them.
Rogue managed to win all of their group matches in the first round, defeating even DRX and LPL giants TOP Esports, which almost certainly secures them a playoff spot.
Verdict: Enticing odds that are worth considering.
Royal Never Give Up made history earlier this year by winning back-to-back MSI championships and became the team with the most MSI titles in history, but meta and player changes in the Summer Split hurt their bot lane’s main strength and their chance to win the LPL Split.
Coming into Worlds, RNG only managed to qualify via Play-Ins but then in the group stage, they won all of their games in the first round and surprised everyone, including the top Korean seed, Gen.G. Their odds have slightly improved following their performance, and they will almost certainly get out of groups.
Verdict: Safe odds worth considering.
DWG KIA might not look as strong as last year, but the presence of three of their championship-winning players from 2020 (Nuguri, Canyon, ShowMaker), as well as other strong players like deokdam and Kellin, can help this team secure some important wins in the group stage and make a deep run in the tournament.
The squad proved themselves yet again by beating the top EU seed G2 Esports and going toe-to-toe with JD Gaming, falling just short of victory. Their odds have improved a little after securing second place in the first week as Evil Geniuses went 0-3.
Verdict: Enticing odds change that are worth considering.
After years of being in T1’s shadow, Gen.G were able to come out on top this year. They failed at the first attempt during the LCK Spring Split, but they succeeded during the Summer season with a convincing 3-0 win in the Finals.
In the first week of the group stage, they got destroyed by RNG, raising concerns among players and fans. The slight decrease in their odds from the first week’s results could be enticing for bettors, with Gen.G still one of the big favorites to win the championship.
Verdict: Slightly better odds for the favourites, worth buying.
Top Esports should not be forgotten. Although this team is known for its volatility and tendency to “burger flip” the game through mistakes, Top Esports was the only team who could challenge JD Gaming during the Summer season. Each of their players has a dangerously high ceiling and potential that could play a major role in their Worlds run.
However, they opened their Worlds 2022 campaign with losses to Rogue and DRX, teams that are considered to be weaker on paper. TES had a disastrous display against DRX and a sloppy one versus Rogue, unable to find their footing and as a result, their odds of winning Worlds are also slipping. That said, there are more matches to be played and, if TES manages to perform as they should, their playoff hopes will improve.
Verdict: Huge odds from a slightly weakened favourite, worth buying.
When talking about LEC teams, G2 Esports is still one of the European powerhouses. They started this year with a strong performance but showed a small decline towards the end of the Summer Split. They still have the potential to go to the playoff stage, but they have a lot of work to do.
They only won one game in the first week of the group stage, beating Evil Geniuses, alongside losses to JD Gaming and DWG KIA. Both teams look far stronger than G2, but they are still the number one European seed and have already proven themselves on the international stage this year with a top-four placement at MSI. Their odds might have become too high for comfort, but knowing G2, they won’t go without a fight.
Verdict: Huge odds that need to be monitored.
JD Gaming stand at the top of the competition as heavy favorites. Both teams have shown strong performances throughout the year. They have a strong lineup and good understanding of the meta, playing at a fundamentally higher level than most others. They found themselves at the top of the LPL standings this year following a failed run in 2021.
Despite only finishing fourth in the Spring, they made it up by securing the LPL Summer 2022 title and looking strong while doing it, both in terms of performance and mental resilience.
JDG managed to win all of their group games in the first week and as a result, there were no changes to their championship odds.
Verdict: Safe odds worth considering.
Despite not winning LCK Summer 2022, T1 is still a force to be reckoned with and definitely should be considered one of the heavy favorites as well. T1 won LCK in the Spring before finishing second at MSI 2022 and were consistently in the top two during the 2022 LCK season. T1 usually also become stronger at international tournaments and have a proven track record.
Their group stage journey result has gone as expected with a 2-1 record, but in a different way than many initially thought. Many expected T1 to lose to EDG and beat Fnatic, but it was actually the way around. This also means that T1 can match whatever EDG is planning but Fnatic also has some surprises up their sleeves. Only time will tell what Group A offers next week.
Verdict: Higher odds worth considering.
Coming as the current defending world champion, EDward Gaming didn’t look as strong as the other two LPL teams. But they have one key thing going for them: they are still using the same winning roster from last year. Their resurgence during the Summer playoffs shows that EDward Gaming is still capable of challenging the top teams and potentially win their second Worlds title.
Their weaknesses showed in their loss to T1 in the first match week of groups, but they managed to win the rest of the games as expected from the defending champion. T1’s loss to Fnatic makes things complicated, though, because now there are three teams tied in the standings.
Verdict: Higher odds worth considering.
As a newcomer, CTBC Flying Oyster were not expected to make a deep run. Fortunately, the majority of their players have prior international experience. Their journey this year has been interesting, from nearly reaching MSI 2022 to finally stepping out of PSG Talon’s shadow to win their first PCS title. Despite being placed in Group D with strong teams, a team with a mollusk in its name should be able to do some damage against the competition.
They did manage to win one game but it was against Evil Geniuses. Their odds have improved slightly but they are yet to be seen as real contenders.
Verdict: Massive odds for thrill seekers only.
After missing out for two years, GAM Esports has officially returned to the Worlds stage. Led by their star player Levi, GAM Esports put in a strong and consistent performance this year by winning VCS titles back-to-back in the Spring and Summer. Most people expected them to do some damage with their explosive play style on the international stage.
Alas, the explosiveness never came to be in their opening matches as GAM went 0-3. There were some signs of brilliance against Rogue but they were swiftly dismantled after a bad fight. Against Top Esports, they failed to really get anything going at all, seeing their odds drop significantly.
Verdict: Massive odds for thrill seekers only.
Last but not least, let’s talk about the LCS teams. Historically, Cloud9 is the only LCS team that knows how to perform well on the international stage. Now, with the Blaber-Jensen duo reunited, and with Berserker also on the team, they are looking to pull off the same miracle escape they did in 2017 against the same teams, T1 and EDward Gaming.
Despite not being expected to perform Cloud9, 100 Thieves and Evil Geniuses still hope to pull off a strong run in front of their home crowd.
But the results have spoken and all three NA teams have failed to impress, closing the first game week with a combined 0-9 record. There is still a second round of group games though, so perhaps there could be a surprise in the making.
Verdict: Massive odds for thrill seekers only.