In League of Legends the big tournament “MSI 2023” for the fans of teams from Europe and North America has already taken place. It was the worst beating that many western LoL fans can remember. The gap to the teams from South Korea and China is wider than ever before.
This is the situation:
- At MSI 2023, the best LoL teams in the world compete against each other: The 4 major regions each send 2 teams into the race.
- With 3 rounds remaining, all teams from Europe and North America have been eliminated. It wasn’t even close.
- The special thing: This time the tournament was so one-sided that even teams from North America did not compete against teams from Europe. These are the matches that western fans particularly look forward to, as there is a fierce rivalry between fans of the LEC and the LCS.
G2 plays 2-6 against Asia and is still in the best position
Who was the last to be eliminated? The European team G2 fought the hardest, managing to win at least 1 match in their loss against the Chinese team BLG, losing only 1-3. Previously, they had already secured a victory in a 1-3 loss against the favorites Gen G. with Chovy.
Thus, G2 has at least won 2 games against teams from Asia and lost 6.
In the USA, the “Golden Guardians” managed to win a single game in a 1-2 loss against BLG.
Another user on Reddit says:
This is the worst tournament the West has had that I can remember. There’s nothing to argue or debate about, we looked so much worse than the East this time. It feels like it was 10 years ago.
Before the tournament, he was still in a good mood:
The other two teams from the USA and Europe, Mad Lions and Cloud9, both went winless against teams from China and South Korea.
Why were there no duels between EU and NA? That was just bad luck. In the Loser’s Bracket, the two regions did not play against each other, but rather against a team from their own region. G2 eliminated the MAD Lions, Cloud9 sent the Golden Guardians to the airport.
In the next round, however, both winners were eliminated by a team from Asia.
The 4 teams from Asia are competing for the top 4 spots
What happens next? All 4 teams from China and South Korea are still in the race and will now determine the winner in 4 “Best of 5” series.
It could lead to a South Korean final between T1 (Faker) and Gen G. (Chovy). But JDG and BLG could also still make it.
Has it always been like this? No, five years ago it seemed that western teams could catch up with teams from China and South Korea:
- South Korea was actually in a crisis: they were said to play boring and methodical. They only had Plan A and couldn’t respond if anything went wrong.
- China had little consistency, with teams that became champions in one year playing no role the next year.
In 2019, a super team of the best players in Europe, G2, even made it to the finals. But the team fell apart in the years following the final loss. The stars scattered in all directions, the ambitious CEO stumbled over a bizarre video showing him with Andrew Tate.
Meanwhile, more and more extremely strong young players have emerged in South Korea and China, forming top teams and challenging each other. The Asian players also seemed to develop much stronger and faster. While G2 could defeat young stars like Showmaker and Canyon in 2019, they were already hopeless in 2020.
In the last tournaments, the “skill gap” between West and East has only continued to grow. In this tournament, MSI 2023, teams from the West no longer play any role.
Fans from Europe and North America are disappointed and bitter
This is what the fans say: They see it with gallows humor (via Reddit). It is said: One could add another loser round to the loser’s bracket and call it the “West Round”.
One user says: For years it has only been about who stinks less against the Asians. Europe or the USA? This time it cannot even be said:
- From Europe’s perspective, one could argue: At least we have won 2 games against Asia and you only 1.
- From North America’s perspective, one could say: At least we haven’t lost any games under 20 minutes.
One user says: Particularly tragic is that “G2” has renamed itself to “T1-Killers” and now does not even have the chance to play against the team they are supposedly the “fearful opponents” of.
Another user on Reddit says:
This is the worst tournament the West has had that I can remember. There’s nothing to argue or debate about, we looked so much worse than the East this time. It feels like it was 10 years ago.
Before the tournament, he was still in a good mood:
