Worlds 2022 semifinals: 3 LCK teams looking to bring Summoner's Cup back to Korea

October 29, 2022

by Nick Geracie

Of the 24 teams competing at the 2022 League of Legends World Championship, only four remain. On Saturday, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, League of Legends Pro League first seed JD Gaming will face off against League of Legends Champions Korea second seed T1. After JD Gaming’s fight to prevent an all-Korea final, an LCK civil war will occur on the other side of the semifinals bracket between first seed Gen.G and fourth seed DRX.

Let’s take a closer look at the teams competing in the semifinals of Worlds 2022 and highlight the key points of the matchups that will decide who goes home and who goes to the final.

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JD Gaming vs. T1: The heavyweight matchup

JD Gaming came into Worlds 2022 as a tournament favorite, and for the most part, they’ve delivered on that reputation. JDG exited Group B with a 5-1 record and beat out LCK third seed DWG KIA in the tiebreaker for first in the group. In the quarterfinals, JDG ended the last Western hope at Worlds in a clean sweep of League of Legends European Championship first seed Rogue.

T1’s trajectory was relatively similar. They dropped a single game to LEC third seed Fnatic in Group A, but as the only team with a 5-1 record at the end of the group, qualified for the quarterfinals as the first-place team from their group. T1 faced off against LPL fourth seed Royal Never Give Up -- a rematch of the Mid-Season Invitational final, which RNG won -- and swept RNG out of the quarterfinals.

When it comes to JDG, most eyes will go toward star jungler Seo "Kanavi" Jin-hyeok. Although T1’s roster is star-studded, mid laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok will always be at the center of any conversation regarding his team at Worlds. However, the true marquee matchup of JDG vs. T1 is in the top lane.

Photo credit: Lance Skundrich / Riot Games

Bai "369" Jia-Hao and Choi "Zeus" Woo-je entered Worlds 2022 in a fight for the title of best top laner in the world, and both have had impressive individual performances. However, T1 plays a very lane-dominant style, while JD Gaming is a bit more methodical in allowing Kanavi to be the sole catalyst of their early game plans. Expect plenty of 2v2 skirmishes in the top lane with both junglers fighting for tempo on the upper half of Summoner’s Rift.

The matchup should be extremely close and should go to five games. Expect T1 to be left standing when the dust settles.

Gen.G vs. DRX: The LCK battle

Gen.G came into Worlds 2022 as a tournament favorite alongside JD Gaming and Top Esports, and for good reason. Gen.G swept T1 in the LCK summer playoffs final and was the strongest team in South Korea since the start of summer. Gen.G took first place in Group D after defeating RNG in a tiebreaker; only dropping one game in the process, but were challenged by DWG KIA throughout an epic five-game series in the quarterfinals.

DRX has possibly the most inspiring storyline at Worlds. The team slumped in summer and only made it to Worlds through the LCK Regional Final by the skin of their teeth. Hopes were low for South Korea’s fourth seed heading to Mexico City.

Contrary to expectations, however, DRX blew through the play-ins stage and took first place in Group C to reach the quarterfinals. Behind unshakeable veteran AD carry Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu and consistently otherworldly performances from mid laner Kim "Zeka" Geon-woo throughout the tournament, DRX have secured a top four finish after a reverse sweep against defending world champion and LPL third seed EDward Gaming.

Photo credit: Colin Young-wolff / Riot Games

Zeka has been the best performing mid laner at Worlds 2022, but in the semifinals, he’ll have to maintain that level of play against the best mid laner in the world. Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon will be playing in his first semifinal after quarterfinals finishes at the last three world championships, and with the Summoner’s Cup closer than ever, expect Gen.G’s ace in the mid lane to pull out all the stops against DRX.

The bot lane also will be a point of contention in the matchup. Deft may have gotten the better of EDG AD carry Park “Viper” Do-hyeon last weekend, but Gen.G AD carry Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk is an equally fearsome foe with far more experience playing against DRX this season.

DRX have made a run at Worlds 2022 by exceeding expectations at every turn, but against Gen.G, their magic will run out after a single game win. Gen.G will face T1 in the world championship final.

There is a bit of shared history as T1 and Samsung Galaxy, the organization whose roster was bought out by Gen.G in 2017, have met in the Worlds final before. The first time was in 2016, when SK Telecom T1 took the series over Samsung Galaxy 3-2 to win their most recent of three Worlds titles. In 2017, Samsung Galaxy dominated in the Worlds final rematch, completely suppressing a surging Faker and sweeping T1 on the way to their second Worlds title as an organization.

Lead image credit: Colin Young-wolff / Riot Games