It's almost that time of the year again! The League of Legends World Championship is right around the corner, and LoL fans around the world are desperately waiting for the action to kick off! What can we expect of the LEC and LCS contenders in 2023?
Only a few weeks left until we kick off the biggest esports event in the world: The League of Legends World Championship 2023! From October 10 to November 19, 2023 there will be 22 teams from all around the globe coming together in South Korea, to compete for the most prestigious title in professional League of Legends.
Six of these teams will be from the EMEA region and from North America. Each region will send at least three competitors to the tournament, with one spot still up for grabs between the two. Regardless of whether the LEC or LCS representative team wins the Worlds Qualifying Series and grabs the final spot, does either region even have a chance at the title?
LEC vs. LCS at Worlds 2023: Who will be more successful?
The rivalry between Europe and North America seems to be almost never-ending. Even though the two regions have not met during the Mid-Season Invitational earlier this year, the fans and players have been fighting each other on Twitter non-stop. The World Championship is the best opportunity of the year to find out, once and for all, which region reigns supreme over the other.
LCS: The Pre-Worlds Situation
The LCS went through quite a rough patch in 2023. Aside from dwindling viewership, two of the oldest and most prestigious organizations in North American esports have folded or announced their departure. Counter Logic Gaming disbanded before the Summer Split, while TSM announced they would leave the region after the 2023 season.
At some point, even the region's participation at worlds as a whole seemed to be in danger. Before the start of the LCS Summer Split, the LCS Player's Association initiated a walkout. The start of the split had to be postponed for two weeks before an agreement was made between Riot Games, the LCS and the LCSPA.
As we all know, the summer split took place, and in the end we had an underdog taking the crown. NRG, the team that bought all of CLG's assets and also took over their roster, managed to beat Cloud9, who were heavy favorites going into the LCS Final.
Reunited and ready to bootcamp #Worlds2023 pic.twitter.com/yCWj5kAVrO
— Team Liquid Honda LoL (@TeamLiquidLoL) September 20, 2023
Now, three teams from the LCS are qualified for Worlds are heading to South Korea, plus Golden Guardians, who look to take the final spot in the Play-In Stage by beating Europe's Team BDS in the Worlds Qualifying series. Team Liquid already arrived, in what is a homecoming for three of their players: Pyosik, CoreJJ and Summit.
LEC: The Pre-Worlds Situation
Despite failing to meet expectations during the 2023 Mid-Season Invitational, the LEC teams are as motivated as ever to show up and blow away the critics on the world's biggest stage. After really entertaining Season Finals in Montpellier (which we attended as well!), there are a lot of familiar faces heading to South Korea!
G2 Esports managed to take another crown in Southern France, qualifying as seed #1 in a thrilling matchup against their all-time rivals in Fnatic. Even though the boys in orange missed out on the LEC championship, they have managed to pull off one of the biggest turnarounds in LEC history.
After a desolate Winter Split and a mediocre Spring Split, Fnatic's odds at qualifying for worlds looked rather grim. But the roster changes the organization made proved fruitful. ADC Noah showed a lot of potential, while Top Laner Oscarinin played a convincing split, all the way to the Season Finals. There, veteran Wunder subbed in due to an injury Oscarinin sustained.
It goes without saying, that you can never count out MAD Lions. A team with the likes of Carzzy, Elyoya and of course Hylissang has a huge upside. But will they be able to unleash their potential? Team BDS, on the other hand, is Europe's team still looking to qualify for Worlds. Do they have enough dark horse energy to beat Golden Guardians and make it through Play-Ins?
LoL Worlds 2023: LEC vs. LCS – Who Has The Upper Hand?
Let's get this right out of the way: Overall, the LEC seems to be in a better place than the LCS right now. G2 Esports looks as good as ever. They have been one of the few competitors, LCK or LPL teams seriously had to fear during the previous World Championships.
No matter if it was the ice-cold and disciplined LCK squads, or the fearless aggression of LPL competitors – G2 found a way to handle them. At least sometimes. Same goes for Fnatic, who have gone all the way to the Finals in 2018.
All three European teams still have at least one team member that knows what playing in a World Championship Final feels like – and what it takes to get there. With the right preparation, they could go all the way again in 2023.
Now, while are Worlds-seasoned veterans on the North American rosters as well, the region has failed to live up to expectations for as long as anyone remembers. The only team that enjoyed at least some form of success was Cloud9, making it to the Knockout Stage a few times over the last years.
NA seems to be cursed in a way. Almost every promising NA roster failed to meet expectations. Are they just that bad, or is there too much pressure weighing on them? We expect EU to have the upper hand in 2023 again. All their teams seem to be in their best possible shape, while the troublesome LCS season leaves a few doubts about the region's competitiveness.
But who knows? Once the action starts, all forecasts are smoke and mirrors anyway! We certainly wouldn't complain if NA convinced us otherwise!