Worlds 2023: Recap of Round 1 of the Play-in Phase. PCS teams record wins, LOUD riding and unexpected BDS crash

The first round of matches of the 13th League of Legends World Championship – Worlds 2023 is over, with some very interesting results.

We are only at the beginning of the big tournament but we can already start with the first evaluation. The eight teams in the Play-In phase have begun their journey towards the main stage of the tournament, where the top fourteen teams in the world are already waiting.

Over the course of two days, we witnessed four series that showed the first possibilities and ambitions of each participant. Below we will take a look at the first round matches played and evaluate the performance of all teams.

The favourite of the play-in phase has started its attack among the elite in an excellent way

The opening match of the thirteenth Worlds started with PSG Talon (PCS champion) and Movistar R7 (LLA champion). The series had a clear favourite in the form of Taiwanese champions PSG Talon. They arrived with a very strong line-up, some of which is shaken off from the Chinese LPL. R7, on the other hand, were looking to try and improve the Latin American region’s unflattering record at Worlds, with its teams winning just two games since 2014.

R7 entered the series with promise and were certainly looking to show why they are the clear rulers of the LLA. Despite the initial nervousness, we watched a fairly even first game. The favourite was slower to warm up and even they allowed themselves a few inaccuracies. It was obvious that the LLA champion didn’t want to repeat the traditional scenario of mindless and sometimes nonsensical actions.

But as the time of the first game passed, the favourite started to get into the game’s rhythm. PSG patiently waited for mistakes and very quickly dismantled any resistance from the opponent with effective teamfights. R7 were then reduced to hopeless chances, which PSG managed and notched their first win of the series.

The second game of the series saw the favourite not allow any more complications, walking quite comfortably to a 2-0 win and awaiting their challenger for the second round.

LOUD confirmed their rise in form against the Vietnamese number one

PSG Talon’s opponent was to emerge from the duel between LOUD (CBLOL champion) and GAM Esports (VCS champion). While LOUD was gaining respect and quality on the international scene, GAM Esports had to make amends for a tragic MSI performance. Thus, the Vietnam region’s tarnished reputation had to defy the Brazilian powerhouse’s onslaught.

On paper, however, the most evenly matched duel of the first round turned into a Brazilian samba. The LOUD were active in the first game of the series, creating great positions and punishing the Vietnamese champion’s lax approach. The Korean crafter Route stole the game for himself, dragging LOUD to the first game and also registering the first pentakill of this tournament.

GAM Esports responded well in the second game more actively and stifled the Brazilian single for a long time, which suddenly lost some ease. Veteran Levi in particular helped his teammates gain the advantage. But in the middle of the game, the Vietnamese players seemed to lose their concentration. First, in Baron’s advantage, they made unnecessary mistakes trying to gain the rook on the boot. This mistake proved to be very crucial even considering the composition that GAM were playing.

Their composition was built to decide the match by about the 30th minute. LOUD, on the other hand, opted for more scaling and every extra minute of the match was more advantageous for them.

After a mistake made by Levi and his crew, the game became very even. However, at a critical moment, GAM failed to handle the ambush set by their opponents and LOUD punished the interplay by gaining a second Baron.

The Brazilian players were then able to slowly strangle the Vietnamese ragu and register a valuable 2-0 victory. The Brazilian joy in the stands was great. On the other hand, the satisfaction did not shine on the Vietnamese players twice, and their continued chances in the tournament will be decided by a rematch of the MSI duel against R7 on Thursday, which the LLA players won 2-1.

🚂 @LOUDGG HYPE TRAIN COMING THROUGH 🚂 pic.twitter.com/VwjGmFUOwF

— LoL Esports (@lolesports) October 10, 2023

Japan’s record-breaking record wasn’t enough for the Samurai to win

The third series of the first round was marked by Japan and the Taiwanese duo. DetonatioN FocusMe were also looking to make amends for the drop in reputation from the failed MSI. Their opponent, CTBC Flying Oyster, on the other hand, wanted to build on their participation in elite company from past Worlds.

Prior to the series itself, there was a lot of discussion about the lineup of the Japanese LJL champions, which had experienced a turbulent year, with veterans Yutapon and apaMEN providing the top lineup shuffle for a long time. In the end, the Japanese opted for the traditional lineup, with Yutapon moving back to his marksman role and apaMEN staying on top.

However, the DFM topper made his mark on the Worlds history charts before the match. The Japanese League veteran became the oldest player in the tournament at the age of 31. Still, his experience and near-legendary status in Japanese LoL esports history was not enough for the actively playing Oysters.

(P)apaMEN 🙏 pic.twitter.com/gU0ZnWYgQr

— LoL Esports (@lolesports) October 11, 2023

The Flying Oysters showed the Samurai why they are the second best PCS team in recent times. Many pundits had labeled the Taiwanese duo as a weaker version of PSG Talon, and rightfully so, as it turned out. The performance was certainly not overwhelming, but it was amply enough for the hard-working Japanese.

The 2-0 result thus boosted PCS’s stock in the play-in phase. DFM were thus waiting for the loser of the BDS/Team Whales pairing. Oysters for its winner.

Adam’s gala performance at the start, then a tough ordeal

The last duel of the first round was a duel between the European four Team BDS and the Vietnamese two Team Whales. After BDS’s great performance in the WQS, where they demolished the American Golden Guardians (3-0), we expected a similar performance against the Vietnamese team.

The first game of the series fulfilled this, turning into a great performance by Adam. His opponent Sparda on top had absolutely no claim against Adam’s Darius. The activity-packed BDS quickly dominated the first game and it looked like the series would be a mere duty for the European unit.

But the Vietnamese Whales responded with a different strategy and suddenly the confident BDS players had to watch a completely different opponent in the second game. For BDS the gracefulness disappeared, the activity of the opponent grew with every minute and suddenly we had a very interesting series. The Whales then punished several inaccuracies of the Europeans and the series had to go to a decisive third game.

The deciding game was in many ways similar to the second. Exchange after exchange after exchange. However, it was clear that once BDS didn’t dominate the early game, the game became an order of magnitude more difficult for them. The Vietnamese team was punishing Marksman Crownie in particular, who was suddenly playing tentatively. It was as if BDS were struggling a bit with their shadow.

The casually unfocused team then had to watch as the VCS runners-up gradually took the initiative. In the end, perhaps to the surprise of many, a patient and mostly team performance led the VCS representatives and tournament newcomer to a 2-1 win. The first surprise of the tournament was Vietnam.

BDS will have to play a much better game against DFM on Thursday. Otherwise, the European four are facing an embarrassing elimination, even more so than the MAD Lions a year ago. They have at least made it to the play-in stage of the play-offs.

WHAT A WORLDS DEBUT:@TeamWhalesVN TAKE DOWN @TeamBDS! #Worlds2023 pic.twitter.com/3B2wiJ5Fdv

— LoL Esports (@lolesports) October 11, 2023

The schedule for the 2nd round of the Play-in phase:

• thursday 9:00 (GAM Esports – Movistar R7)
• thursday 12:00 (BDS – DFM)
• friday 9:00 (LOUD – PSG Talon)
• friday 12:00 (CTBC Flying Oyster – Team Whales)

Source: Leaguepedia, Twitter LoL Esports, Kaza LoL