Worlds Play-In Finals: REVERSE SWEEP

Worlds 2023 Play-In – Finals: THE REVERSE SWEEP

The final day of the Worlds 2023 play-ins was a rollercoaster of emotions that the League of Legends world is not going to forget anytime soon. Here's what went down in the Play In Finals!

GAM Esports vs. Team Whales

In Game 1, GAM dominated the pace of the game throughout the entire match, much like they did in the VCS finals. They gathered an early gold advantage that they used to trample TW and quickly get the first win of the day without much contest.

Game 2 saw both teams playing more aggressively, featuring plenty of tower-dives and fights. TW snowballed rapidly, capturing the Dragon Soul and leveraging the overpowered Chemtech Boost to push into GAM's base.

Not even an hour had passed since the start of this series, and we were already on Game 3. In a repeat of Game 1, GAM dictated the game's pace towards their own playstyle and left no room for TW to build plays. With a 12.000 gold advantage and a Baron buff, they demolished TW's base for a 2-1 victory.

TW was under immense pressure for Game 3, as it was their last chance to advance to the Swiss Stage, and it showed. GAM maintained a substantial advantage throughout the match, with GAM Palette, playing Sett Support, demonstrating his capability to boost the team and carry. Despite a couple of great plays from TW, GAM was too fed to lose and took the game, eliminating Team Whales and moving on to the Swiss Stage of League of Legends Worlds 2023.

PSG Talon vs. Team BDS

The dark horse of the competition, PSG Talon, started the final day with an incredible match, keeping Team BDS on the defensive from start to finish. By the 30-minute mark, it felt more like a Coop-vs-AI game as PSG pushed into the base as if there was no defense.

Game 2 unfolded similarly to the first, with PSG Maple, playing Akali, farming BDS like a Nasus left alone in the top lane. This match was almost painful to watch as Team BDS' dreams appeared to shatter before our eyes.

Let's move on to Game 3.

EMEA fans were nearly ready to give up, but Game 3 was a glimmer of hope for the LEC as Team BDS managed to turn the game around despite a rough start. As the game reached the 30-minute mark, the European curse of play-in losses loomed, but BDS Adam, engaged onto PSG and turned the tide, claiming the Baron buff and establishing a gold advantage. Inspired by the top-laner's performance, BDS woke up and stormed into the fray, defeating PSG fight after fight and claiming their first win of the series.

Amid the despair of needing the legendary Reverse Sweep, BDS Adam picked his special pick, Garen, to counter PSG's Azhi on Jax. Team BDS believed hard enough, and hope began to rise as Adam secured kill after kill. As BDS started winning in every other lane, Adam continued to dominate, using his movement speed boost to chase away anyone who came near. PSG faltered despite Wako's attempts to take down anyone during teamfights. Through fire and flame, BDS Adam carried the European squad to another victory, and the dream came alive again as BDS reached a 2-2 score.

Silver Scrapes, baby! Game 5 is real, and dreams can come true in the biggest stage of them all! PSG Talon versus Team BDS Game 5 gave fans one of the most balanced matches in Worlds history, remaining neck-and-neck in terms of gold for most of the match. Each team captured one Baron buff, each team had two drakes, and it still was anyone's game.

Only one team could advance, and a single fight could change the fate of the entire tournament. As Team BDS initiated a perfect engage on PSG, the European mid-laner, Nuc, secured a Quadra-kill in an exhilarating battle. The crowd cheered, the commentators went wild, and Team BDS destroyed PSG Talon's Nexus to take the win, breaking the European curse by finally winning a Play-In final and achieving the third-ever Reverse Sweep in League of Legends Worlds history.

The MVP for the day was BDS Adam, who proved that the top lane is not an island and that you can indeed solo-carry a game of League.

Worlds 2023 Swiss Stage Draft

The draft for the League of Legends Worlds 2023 Swiss Stage followed the final match between PSG Talon and Team BDS.

Here are the matches for the first day, October 19:

Stay tuned for more Worlds 2023 News!

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