LoL Worlds 2024: LPL and LCK lead the way, while T1 stumbled in its debut

The first day of the Swiss stage at the League of Legends World Championship has concluded, with the 16 best teams from their respective regions making their debut. Overall, the favorites came out on top, and expectations were met. This sets the stage for more balanced matchups tomorrow, as the winning teams will face each other, and the losing teams will battle it out among themselves.

BiliBili Gaming dominated Mad Lions KOI after a rocky start, drawing comparisons to last year's BDS vs. JDG match. MDK had a promising early game, securing key outplays in the first 13 minutes. However, allowing BLG’s Zhuo "knight" Ding on Ahri and Yan "Wei" Yang-Wei on Vi to scale proved disastrous. BLG turned the game around after the first team fights, controlling the pace and suffocating MDK. The Lions couldn’t recover and eventually fell after a 26-minute stomp.

The second LPL seed, Top Esports, handed the reigning World Champions, T1, their first defeat in a thrilling match. T1’s early lane swap gave them a 3k gold advantage, and they seemed to be in control. However, TES mounted an impressive comeback, capitalizing on small mistakes from T1 and showcasing their resilience. It appears the reigning champions still have lingering issues from the Summer Split that need to be addressed. China came out on top in this first clash between LPL and LCK at Worlds 2024.

This match between Gen.G and Weibo Gaming featured a rare double ADC mid-lane showdown, with Lucian for Xiaohu and Smolder for Chovy. Both teams played cautiously, waiting for their scaling, leading to a slow game that erupted only after 30 minutes. Gen.G's superior objective control made the difference, and they secured a hard-fought victory in a 45-minute battle, the longest of the day. Though WBG came close to causing an upset, Gen.G’s discipline carried them through.

Fnatic and Dplus KIA’s first-ever encounter as organizations delivered the most tightly contested game of the day. Both teams drafted explosive compositions and made plenty of mistakes, which were quickly punished on both sides. Fnatic spent most of the game playing from behind but fought tenaciously, clutching crucial team fights to stay alive. However, DK found a decisive team fight around Baron Nashor, finally closing the game after 35 minutes.

Team Liquid put up a strong fight but ultimately fell to LNG. The second seed from North America showed promise in the early game, maintaining a close contest. Despite their loss, TL's performance was encouraging, and they demonstrated that LNG is not invincible. This match bodes well for TL's future in the tournament.

Hanwha Life Esports secured a convincing victory over PSG Talon, thanks largely to Zeka’s dominant Yone, a pick that defined his stellar Summer split. While HLE started slow, as has been their trend, they quickly turned the game around in the mid-game, overwhelming PSG Talon. Though PSG wasn’t outclassed, they couldn’t match HLE’s mid-game prowess and fell as expected.

FlyQuest secured the first victory for the West with a well-executed lane swap strategy that shut down Kiaya's Gnar. With an ahead-of-curve Sion and the support of Ivern’s shields, FlyQuest dominated team fights and outmaneuvered GAM's composition. FlyQuest’s superior execution and map control left GAM with no answers, leading to a clean win for the North American team.

G2 Esports put on a show in their first game against paiN Gaming, bringing flair and creativity to the stage. With Yone in the midlane and Yasuo in the top lane, they delivered one of the day’s most unique drafts. Unfortunately for PNG, they never really found their footing, as G2 dominated without even needing to overextend their resources. They stand as the only European team to win their opening match.

The meta at this year's Worlds is proving to be quite dynamic and unpredictable. Lane swaps have been a common strategy across 7 of the 8 matches, almost each time providing a win to the initiating team. Interestingly, players in post-match interviews have expressed varying opinions on which champions are strongest, leading to speculation that this could be one of the most open metas we've seen in years. Each game feels unique, with no clear patterns emerging just yet. Despite the nerfs, we still see certain ADCs being played in the midlane. Skarner seems to have made a strong impression. We have seen a fair amount of Jax and Jhin picks, indicating that these champions could play a key role as the tournament progresses. However, it will take more matches to fully understand if any dominant strategies or champion picks will take shape.

The draw for the second round has been completed, and the matches will kick off tomorrow at 2:00 PM CET.