Worlds 2023: Vietnam back among the elite, BDS saving Europe’s honour

The Worlds play-in phase is over and we take a look back at the teams advancing to the main stage of Worlds 2023.

The big surprise of this year’s Play-ins was definitely Team Whales. The Vietnamese duo showed very likeable and team-like performances in this phase.

The unit, which combined familiar faces of the Vietnamese VCS, a Vietnamese legend with LPL experience in the coaching position, SofM, and the emerging young generation, managed to outplay BDS (2-1) on their debut, to the shock of the whole world and especially us European fans.

The Whales then repeated the same against regional rival Taiwan. In a clash of regional duos, the Whales players outplayed the traditional Worlds participant, CTBC Flying Oyster (2-1). Thus, they could look for a qualifying series (Bo5) opponent for the main stage of the Worlds.

Their opponent, perhaps surprisingly, was league rivals GAM Esports. They put on a crazy turbulent performance during the play-in phase. This left Vietnam’s most famous team fighting not only their own reputation, but also that of the entire VCS.

In particular, their first performance against Brazil’s LOUD (0-2) was far from the ambitions the team wanted to rectify after the failed MSI. In the end, the VCS rulers worked in repairs and after wins against Movistar R7 and a rematch with LOUD (both 2-0), we were able to watch a replay of the VCS summer split final.

Team Whales was looking to break the curse against GAM Esports in the deciding battle to advance. In fact, Whales had never beaten their rival this season.

However, the Whales’ risk and effort was eventually shut down by the Vietnam champions, who outplayed their opponent in a tenacious and professorial manner (3-1). Still, despite the loss, the Whales can be happy with their performance and also gaining a lot of sympathy from around the world.

Europe’s BDS saved Europe’s reputation

Another team that attracted a lot of attention was the European BDS four. They commanded respect after their clear victory in the WQS against the American Golden Guardians (3-0). Especially Adam at the top with his picks like Darius or Garen decimated the opponents.

BDS, who surprisingly have a lot of fans in Korea due to the popularity of Korean legends like CloudTemplar or Wolf, expected a pretty smooth run and consolidation of form before the main stage.

But what the devil, the first clash with Team Whales was definitely not the right one for the European cardiacs. Although BDS was leading 1-0, their opponent changed their approach to the game and the European team’s confidence began to plummet. Suddenly, the team’s movers and shakers weren’t playing so confidently and bought many mistakes. The resulting 1-2 loss was the first surprise of the tournament and gave BDS a lot to think about.

BDS had to convince not only the European fans in the fixtures that this was a mere cramp. Despite the ultimately obligatory wins against Japanese DFM and Flying Oyster (2-0 identical), it was clear that there is still a long way to go to the ideal. The subsequent clash with PSG Talon was thus to be a sort of test of maturity.

PSG Talon were at their best in the play-in phase. The team handled all the opponents with ease thanks to the players with LPL experience. Spolus BDS were thus considered the biggest favourites for promotion to the elite. Although PSG quickly took a 2-0 lead, BDS showed that they were a force to be reckoned with.

The European four did not lay down their arms and gradually eliminated all the shortcomings of their game. The series became more dramatic and came down to the decisive fifth game. A very even fifth game showed both nervousness and the desire to advance.

The critical point of the match was better handled by BDS who held their nerve and were able to complete the turnaround from 0-2 to 3-2. The prestige of Europe was defended, while PCS will not have a representative among the elite for the first time in their history.

Source: Leaguepedia, Kaza LoL