Banter, memes, and wholesome moments of Worlds 2022 Play-ins

On Oct 5, the play-in stages of the 2022 LoL World championship came to an end. In the end, there were only four teams that made it into the group stages; DRX, RNG, Evil Geniuses, and Fnatic. The two first place teams of each group were DRX and Fnatic; DRX went undefeated in the play-in stages, while Fnatic only dropped a single game against CBLoL’s LOUD in the round robin. Evil Geniuses faced off against MAD Lions in the classic NA vs EU rival matchup, where EG swept MAD 3-0 to not only move on to groups, but to become the first LCS team to beat an LEC team in a Bo5. RNG took down LJL’s DetonatioN FocusMe 3-1 and were the last team to move on in the tournament.

The gameplay is and will always be what the fans will primarily focus on, but the banter, memes, and the wholesome moments are an integral part of the sport that serve as the cherry on top of the cake. From the moments that were unknowingly caught on camera, the jersey exchanges between teams, the friendly[?] online banter, and the wholesome moments, we at Inven Global compiled some of those moments from Worlds 2022 play-ins.

Play-ins would be a whole lot different without Evi moments

*LJL icon Evi and his classic thumbs up pose [photo via LoL Esports Flickr]*

*He likes to look dead straight into the camera and give his thumbs up*

*While DFM put up a good fight, they ultimately fell to RNG 1-3. Evi gives his final thumbs up of Worlds 2022*

Jerseys aren't the only things being exchanged at Worlds

LCK Twitter - Wholesome moments

The on-site camera caught LCK's Jeesun Park dancing before her interview with DRX

*The photoshop support from both DRX and LCK*

*DRX went undefeated in the play-in stages and qualified to group stages*

*Here are some of the responses from the fellow LCK representatives*

The "Gap"

*CBLoL's LOUD pulled an upset victory over Fnatic. Their bot laner, Brance, decided to flex on them IRL*

*This was right after EG defeated LOUD for a higher seeding in the elimination bracket of the play-in stage. Impact did top gap. Like REALLY badly*

NA vs EU - The banter

EG clean swept MAD Lions 3-0. It also marked the first time that an LCS team beat an LEC team in a Bo5 [video source: Today on Twitch Youtube]

Vulcan's banter game: 11/10

FEATURE ESPORTS HEADLINE PC ONLINE 2022 LOL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOT GAP BRANCE CBLOL DRX DWG KIA EVIL GENIUSES GEN.G JEESUN PARK LCK LCS LEC LOL LOL ESPORT LPL T1 TOP GAP WORLDS 2022 League of Legends