Worlds 2022 Play-in Day 3 Recap: Bot Gap, Teemo Pick & Heartbreak

Worlds 2022 has already treated fans to tons of banter, exciting gameplay, and top League of Legends action in three days at the Play-in stage. However, for three teams, their Worlds 2022 journey came to an end on Day 3. While DRX managed to keep its win streak alive, Fnatic lost its streak to the Brazilian team LOUD. All in all, Day 3 of the Play-in stage gave a concrete structure to the group standings and teams will be looking forward to making it out as the first seed.

The following were the results from Day 3 of Worlds 2022 Play-in:

• Fnatic (FNC): FNC vs LOUD

• MAD Lions (MAD): MAD vs Saigon Buffalo (SGB)

• DetonatioN FocusMe (DFM): Beyond Gaming (BYG) vs DFM

• Evil Geniuses (EG): EG vs Chiefs Esports Club (CHF)

• Royal Never Give Up (RNG): RNG vs Isurus (ISG)

• BYG: CHF vs BYG

• RNG: RNG vs Istanbul Wildcats (IW)

• DRX: ISG vs DRX

LOUD says “bot gap” to Fnatic

The phrase that is now etched on the minds of Worlds 2022 viewers and fans is “Bot Gap.” The Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends (CBLOL) squad of LOUD had a dominant victory over Fnatic in the opening match of the day. Fnatic’s bot lane showed signs of struggle and LOUD’s bot lane showed up big time in the matchup. Taking a jibe at Fnatic, LOUD’s bot-laner Diego "Brance" Amaral wrote “Bot Gap” on his arm and showed it off on cam multiple times.

Early heartbreak at Worlds 2022

The three teams who have been eliminated from Worlds 2022 at the opening stage of the tournament are as follows:

• Chiefs Esports Club

• Istanbul Wildcats

• Isurus

On Day 3, CHF lost both its games to EG and BYG. In the first match against EG, all the early advantages went to the North American (NA) squad that played together as a team. At 22 minutes, EG broke open CHF’s base, turned to Baron Nashor, and closed out the game in just over 25 minutes. Troubles continued for the Oceanic team in the matchup against Beyond Gaming. BYG had a steady 5K gold lead over CHF at 20 minutes and this lead only grew further as the game progressed. With Baron Nashor buffed minions in two lanes, BYG comfortably closed out the game in 25 minutes.

Royal Never Give Up (RNG) was responsible for eliminating Istanbul Wildcats and Isurus from Group B on Day 3 of the Worlds 2022 Play-in stage. Isurus picked Teemo top against RNG and it did not translate into an advantage for the team. RNG controlled the tempo and the pace of the game as it stacked gold advantage, dragons, and towers. It was a one-sided game that ended in 26 minutes. Additionally, Isurus also lost its match against the Korean squad of DRX to close out Day 3 of Worlds 2022 Play-in.

Likewise, Istanbul Wildcats also held onto its base only for half-an-hour in-game before RNG took down its nexus. The Chinese squad was ahead in gold, towers collected, and dragons stacked at 20 minutes as IW struggled to look for answers. However, IW did collect multiple kills at around 27 minutes and narrowed down the gold lead. But a Baron-empowered RNG marched into its base and ended the game.

Lions take home the W against Buffalo

In the second match of the day, the Vietnamese squad of Saigon Buffalo (SGB) went up against MAD Lions. SGB looked competitive and picked up early advantages from the get-go. But a few mistakes in macro cost the team its lead and allowed MAD Lions to catch up to it and gain an advantage. A scrappy team fight at 28 minutes, allowed MAD Lions’ Hecarim to pick up a triple kill and stampede on the SGB squad. MAD Lions won the game in under 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, DetonatioN FocusMe (DFM) is still holding onto its Worlds 2022 dreams after a win against Beyond Gaming on Day 3. DFM is now tied with BYG and LOUD with a 2-2 scoreline, making Group A all the more interesting.

The last day of the Group Stage of Play-in will continue on 2nd October. Following this, the teams placed second, third, and fourth in their respective groups will fight it out in the Elimination and the Qualification rounds.

Stay updated with the tournament by heading on to Worlds 2022 Play-in: Teams, Groups, Schedule & More.