Either way, it would have been a beautiful story. As
CBLOL and LLA will disappear in 2025, making way for a two-conference American league, this last dance for both leagues at
League of Legends Worlds 2024 was a must watch. And it could not have been written any better, with both champions from these regions fighting for the last spot at Worlds' Main Stage, a spot that they both needed to claim to make their communities proud.
But also to restore hope at international events because that spot has been eluding their regions since the establishment of Play-Ins, in 2017. Even worse for the LLA that never made it to Worlds Main Stage at all, and still achieved an accomplishment this year with their first win in a Worlds series (against 100 Thieves, 2-1).
The blast
For paiN Gaming as an organization, it was also a matter of restoring their former glory. Indeed, the Brazilian team didn't lift the CBLOL's trophy since 2015, when they represented their country at Worlds and even had a strong showing, beating Hung "Karsa" Hau-hsuan's Flash Wolves, despite the eventual elimination in Group Stage. Nine years later, they lifted their domestic trophy again and also showed up at Worlds as well.
In
a past interview with the Brazilian journalist Bruno "LeonButcher" Pereira he reflected: "
Brazilian fans started to get fed up because their champion wasn't on the biggest stage. If they weren't playing against the best teams in the world, why would they follow them? Why would they follow a league that no longer has any international results? So Brazil really fell off, between 2017 and 2020 we suffered because of the viewership..." While the community gave their all to recover since then, and created together a new era of competitive
LoL hype, focused on domestic narratives, this qualification still feels like a breath of fresh air. Especially after the bad news recently that made this same community so mad, because Riot Games decided to blow up what Brazilians fans had rebuilt on their own. This Sunday,
with their victory against Rainbow 7 (2-1), paiN Gaming as the last representative ever of CBLOL on the international stage blew up nothing but fireworks.
For their community to be marvelled, thrilled but also for all of them to keep faith in Brazilian's League of Legends, whatever happens next. In the blast of this explosion of colours, PNG will keep on facing the best in the Worlds and even if they're not up to scratch, they will guide one of the biggest esports communities in their wake, keeping hope alive as long as the last spark still shines in the years to come.
Header Photo Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
