Worlds Knockouts Day 1: See the Light

Worlds 2023 Quarterfinals - Day 1: Light’s Perfect Aim

The League of Legends Worlds 2023 Knockout Stage has begun! Keep in mind that from this moment on, all a team needs to do is win three best-of-five series in a row to win the tournament. Sounds simple, right? Not really. This year, Gen.G, Bilibili, NRG, Weibo Gaming, JDG, kt Rolster, LNG, and T1 are competing in the knockouts, and the power level of any of these squads is way over nine thousand.

Today, the LCS Champions NRG faced off against the LPL’s 4th seed, Weibo Gaming in the first of seven best-of-five series to determine the Worlds 2023 Champions.

We already expected TheShy to perform well; after all, he’s the star player on WBG, but he wasn’t the only one to shine today. On the opposite side, Contractz and Palafox have been an unstoppable duo.

The first match was a rollercoaster. NRG were ready for war and were more determined than ever to take a win. Throughout the entire game, both teams had more or less the same amount of gold; teamfights were extremely even, and it seemed like it was impossible to predict who would win.

Alas, League of Legends matches have to end sooner or later, and unfortunately for NRG, a baron booster WBG took the win after a well-timed teamfight in the LCS Champions’ base.

Now, if there’s something we’ve gotten used to during Worlds 2023, it's that LPL teams are like a reliable car from the 90's; they take a while to warm up the engine, but once they do, they’re consistent, reliable, and hard to stop if they're going too fast. WBG started off phenomenally well and took the early lead, but to everyone’s surprise, they cemented it only a few seconds after NRG took the baron buff. Despite the stat boost, they were powerless to stop a Pop-blossom from Xiaohu that stunned the entire squad long enough for Light to use up all of Aphelio’s ammunition on them.

NRG turtled as hard as they could, but Weibo are an unstoppable machine once they get ahead in the game. The American team focused on TheShy, but they had the wrong super-star. Light’s movement was something out of this world as he manoeuvred among NRG’s squad, taking them out one by one, showcasing how powerful Aphelios can be in the hands of a real master.

2-0, last chance for NRG; it’s all or nothing now, and although we all love a Cinderella story, NRG needed more than a fairy god mother to get the reverse sweep.

Weibo Gaming was in fifth gear now, and they systematically hunted NRG’s isolated members, building a steady advantage.

With his team way ahead of the game, Light decided to go full rogue, and as the remaining four members engaged time after time, he strategically showed up in unconventional locations, surprising NRG and even flanking the backline of the North American team. There was nothing else NRG could do, and WBG took the 3-0 and will be facing either Gen.G or BLG in the semifinals.

Press F for NRG. It was an amazing run for the LCS champions, and they deserve all the praise and respect in the world.

Our MVP for Day 1 of the Knockout Stage is WBG Light.

Gen.G and Bilibili Gaming face off tomorrow; stay tuned for the highlights!

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