First tiebreaker of the group stage! JDG and DWG KIA move on to the quarterfinals

Oct 14, 2022

*Day 6 of Worlds 2022 results [image screengrabbed via LCK broadcast]*

Day 6 of the 2022 LoL World Championship saw the matches result very similarly to day 5, with both the Western teams, Evil Geniuses and G2 Esports, getting knocked out of the tournament, while DWG KIA and JD Gaming moved on to the quarterfinals. Failing to pick up a victory in the first week of the group stages, EG was coming into week 2 with a 0-3 record. G2 had a 1-2 record, DWG KIA was 2-1, and JDG had a perfect 3-0 heading into week 2.

The first match of the day saw two of the Western teams of the group face off. G2 put on a dominating victory over EG in week 1, but EG were able to get their revenge by taking out G2 this time around. However, EG lost to JDG in the following match, and G2 lost to DWG KIA in the third match of the day. G2’s loss against DWG KIA meant that both EG and G2 were knocked out of the tournament, while DWG KIA and JDG were moving onto the quarterfinals.

JDG and DWG KIA both defeated G2 and EG in match 4 and 5 respectively, which only left the final matchup of the day between the two Eastern teams. Should JDG have beaten DWG KIA in that match, it would have meant that JDG would move on as the 1st seed of group B and DWG KIA as the 2nd seed, but should DWG KIA win, it meant that both teams would have a tie record of 5-1, forcing a tiebreaker to decide the seeding for the quarterfinals.

Unlike week 1, DWG KIA took down JDG. DK managed to get a huge lead before the 10-minute mark, as a successful gank in the top lane and a kill on Missing’s Nami led to such advantages for DK. JDG’s answer to regain control of the game was through Nuguri’s Gragas, and have successfully regained their footing when they killed him twice and pushed all the way into the top inhibitor with the use of the Rift Herald.

A teamfight followed shortly after in the mid lane, where DWG KIA managed to kill Nami, while JDG’s attempt at finding lethal on deokdam’s Aphelios failed. This led to DK securing Baron Nashor, and at this point, all of JDG’s attempts at coming back into the game was foiled by Canyon’s Graves that was massively ahead. By the 29 minute mark, DWG KIA took down JDG’s Nexus, forcing the tiebreaker.

In the tiebreaker match, JDG gained early advantages by successfully tower diving Nuguri’s Irelia, while their bot lane outlived DWG KIA’s bot lane dive with a sliver of health. However, DK’s bot lane still had a lead over JDG, as deokdam’s Aphelios had a 20+ CS lead over Hope’s Kai’Sa. To capitalize, DK dove JDG’s bot lane for the second time, and their second attempt was a massive success.

With all the gold funneling into DK’s bot lane, they rotated to top lane to further push their advantages. JDG forced another skirmish, which led to both teams trading kills. A standoff for the second Rift Herald meant another teamfight was on the horizon. It was a victory for DWG KIA, but the teamfight near the drake pit that followed right after was for JDG to take, keeping the game even.

The lead that 369’s Aatrox amassed in the top lane, when paired with Kanavi’s Vi, allowed them to push through DK’s front line with ease and jump onto deokdam’s Aphelios in the following teamfights. Despite DK managing to secure Baron Nashor around the 28 minute mark, JDG did not let them go without consequences. By this point, JDG managed to close out the match with ease, moving onto the quarterfinals as the 1st seed of group B, while DWG KIA moved on as the 2nd seed.