The 2023 League of Legends World Championship represented a big change for Riot's biggest event of the year. After twelve editions playing in a Group Stage format, the editor decided to switch to a different one, the Swiss Stage. With 16 teams participating, five rounds and draws at the end of each one, teams needed three losses to be eliminated, or three wins to qualify for the knockout stage, a classic elimination bracket played with the eight best teams in the world. This gave new momentum to the competition and increased fan hype.

Overview and expectations

JD Gaming and Gen.G were the favorites here, dominating their domestic regions like never seen before, both teams felt like they were unbeatable and ready to conquer the rest of the world. The same goes for G2 Esports, the Samurais were better than any other EMEA team, but everyone knew the gap between East and West was probably too big for them.

The usual teams were here too, T1 would never miss the event, especially after 2022's dramatic ending. Some other contenders showed up like Weibo Gaming, BiliBili Gaming, Team Liquid, and Cloud9, then they all headed to the KBS Stadium in Seoul to decide who will be the eight teams going to the quarter-finals.

The beginning

The Swiss stage's three first rounds went without any huge surprise, the biggest Asian teams were performing well, and even G2, carrying the European dream on their shoulders, was having a good start, beating both LCK and LPL's fourth seed, respectively Dplus KIA and Weibo, before an expected loss to Gen.G, who made it with ease to the next stage along with JD Gaming.

The first shock was G2 losing to NRG, who made it to the quarter-finals, being the first and only Western team in the Knockout Stage, a decisive Ian Victor "FBI" Huang on his Sivir, supported by an omnipresent Lee "IgNar" Dong-geun with Rakan were enough to crush G2's hopes. They faced BLG for the final round, and Chen "Bin" Ze-Bin's Jax was open for the first game, so he simply proved that he has the best Jax ever and is one of the greatest toplaners in the World. A close second game saw Steven "Hans Sama" Liv's Kai'sa even the score before BLG perfectly controlled the third game. G2 and Europe were already out.

Asian teams dominating

All of the four Chinese teams made it to the quarterfinals, it was an easy step for JDG, who made it without losing, and LNG Esports, who only lost to JDG during the third round. BLG struggled a bit, getting roughly beaten by a revengeful and convincing T1, they also showed a sad face against G2, getting close to the exit door. Weibo was the least scary team, only making it to the next stage by beating NRG, MAD Lions, and Fnatic.

Gen.G also made the perfect run and ensured a spot by the end of the third round, followed in the fourth round by T1. KT Rolster needed to face and beat Dplus KIA twice to make it to the BO5 stages after losing to BLG and LNG. The 2022 World champion Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu did not make it and didn't get the chance to defend his title.

Busan, here we are!

The quarterfinals started slowly with an expected win for Weibo against NRG, coming out from the Swiss Stage was already a big achievement for the LCS Summer 2023 Champion. Weibo was making their way silently on this Worlds 2023, no one was expecting them to go that far but here they are, in the semis waiting for their opponent, who will be decided the day after in one of the greatest games of the event: Gen.G vs BLG.

This was clearly the most intense BO5 of this Worlds, BLG came in as the challengers, since Gen.G were the favorites with Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon, who has been considered by a lot of LoL experts as the best player in the world. The game started strong from BLG, who quickly secured a first match point after two clean wins, but Kim "Peyz" Su-hwan and Chovy had a different opinion, offering us a great performance during the third and fourth game, leading us to a Silver Scrapes waiting screen and turning up the heat in the Sajik Arena.

It's after 33 minutes and 42 seconds, 20 kills, and two Barons that BLG and Zhao "Elk" Jia-Hao found the strength to destroy Gen.G's Nexus, sending the second Chinese seed to the semis to face Weibo, and giving Elk, the most valuable title player of the game.

For the third quarterfinal, JDG proved their superiority, beating KT Rolster without real difficulty, showing considerable composure under pressure. Zhuo "knight" Ding and Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk delivered a convincing performance and sent JDG to the semifinals. T1 also smashed LNG in a one-sided BO5. The 2022 finalists were determined to go back where they belong and claim the title that has been running from them for six years.

With KT and GEN.G out, T1 was the last representative of LCK, they will have to face JDG, undefeated throughout the competition and considered the strongest team. The other game was a civil war between Weibo and BLG, and if all the eyes were looking at T1 vs JDG, the LPL teams gave us a thrilling and tightly contested BO5 that delivered everything fans could hope for. Weibo defeated the odds, with a Kang "TheShy" Seung-lok on fire. The underdogs, who came a long way from the Swiss Stage have now qualified for the Worlds 2023 Final, waiting for the second semifinal to give its winner.

THE play

If there is one game to remember in 2023, it's certainly this one: JD gaming vs T1. Most of the experts were giving JDG ahead, and rightly so. T1 had to create something to challenge the gods of League of Legends, and they did. The first game was a slap in JDG's face, T1 recited their poem perfectly, ending the game in less than 25 minutes. The Chinese giant tied the score with a very long game — and some K'Sante gaming — making the crowd scream. For the third game, Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok picked his most comfortable pick, Azir.

The game wasn't going so well for the Korean triple world champions, they were 4K golds behind and JDG had a Baron push in the midlane, but at exactly 29 minutes and 40 seconds of the game, you can witness a miracle, a play that only Faker can think about and do at this level of pressure, a dash in the middle of the enemy team, a flash to predict Ruler's, and an Emperor's Divide to push him back to Mun "Oner" Hyeon-jun and Choi "Zeus" Woo-je's Aatrox to finish the kill. T1 takes advantage of this incredible Best Of Five.

The last game was close between the two teams and the level of the ten players was so good that the public could only enjoy and pray for a fifth game. Unfortunately, on a majestic Bard, Ryu "Keria" Min-seok felt otherwise and decided to fly high, so high that no JDG player could catch him while he was going for his more than deserved MVP title. By winning this match, T1 also denied the Golden Road to JDG, who had previously won both LPL splits and the MSI.

The consecration

At home, inside the Gocheok Sky Dome of Seoul, nothing could have stopped T1's march to the glory. It was like the final was a game early against JDG. Weibo never really stood a chance to challenge the best team in the World, the South Korean team gave a lesson of League of Legends to their contestants. As a symbol, with an imperial Akali, Faker led his team during an amazing team fight, sealing the game and offering the fourth star to the legendary organization.

Faker looked left and right, but this time no one was crying, they were all happy, celebrating the greatest moment of their lives, and they got their revenge as a five. Proving that in a year where competition reached unprecedented heights, T1 could still claim the crown. For T1 and their fans, this triumph is not just about the title, it’s about legacy, redemption, and being written down in the eternity of the game.