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The League of Legends World Championship or Worlds is one of the most exciting tournaments to watch as the top teams from each region across the world battle it out to become the champion. A total of 24 teams from across the globe participated in Worlds 2022 and fans witnessed some of the best matches in the tournament’s history this year. Two teams were left standing on the international stage after battling it out for nearly a month and their eyes are set on the prize: the Worlds 2022 trophy. The League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) has proven itself to be the best region this year with two of its four representatives making it to the grand final of Worlds 2022.
This year fans were treated to exhilarating matches right from the get-go starting with the Play-in stage and things only got better. While some of the matches in the group stage and knockouts were disappointing and really one-sided, teams showed their prowess and mental fortitude even during the toughest of times.
Here are some of the records broken at Worlds 2022:
(5th November) Update: Worlds 2022 breaks viewership record
The final series of Worlds 2022 saw T1 and DRX trade blows back and forth but DRX prevailed and won the series, becoming the World champion. According to Esports Charts, Worlds 2022 broke a League of Legends record as the T1 vs DRX matchup attracted over 5.1 Million viewers. This broke the previous Worlds 2021 record of 4 Million viewers. Worlds this year was broadcast on Twitch, Afreeca TV, Trovo, YouTube, and Facebook. Notably, Riot Games invited guests to co-stream the final series from Chase Center, San Francisco and looks like it has paid off.
Additionally, Esports Charts also reported that the top five esports matches sorted by peak viewers (excluding Battle Royale & Chinese streaming platforms) are League of Legends matches. They are:
T1 vs DRX - 5.1M
EDward Gaming vs Damwon Kia - 4M
T1 vs G2 Esports - 3.9M
Suning Gaming vs DK - 3.8M
G2 Esports vs FunPlus Phoenix - 3.7M
LCK will lift its seventh Worlds trophy
Between 2011 and 2021, Korea and its league – the LCK – have won six titles, the most any region has won. The teams from other leagues, including China, have been left in the dust for quite some time now and will need to go the extra mile to stand up to the competition in the future. With two LCK teams left standing at Worlds 2022 finals (T1 and DRX), LCK will soon hoist its seventh title at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California.
Most unique champions contested
Worlds 2022 set the record for the most unique champions contested. During the Group Stage of the tournament, on 10th October, Riot Games revealed that 98 different champions were picked or banned at Worlds 2022 so far. Before the Group C matches began, this number crossed 100.
The Worlds 2022 meta proved to be very versatile, with many odd picks cropping up like Heimerdinger support and Teemo top. Teams showed that they were not afraid to experiment on the international stage, making this Worlds one of the best in the history of LoLEsports.
North America finally beats Europe in a best-of series
On 5th October, North America’s Evil Geniuses rewrote League of Legends Esports history by taking down the European squad of MAD Lions in a clean series where it went 3-0. Following this, Evil Geniuses became the first team from its region to beat an EU representative in an international best-of series. MAD Lions also made history that day, not for a good reason, but for being the only team from a major region to not cross the Play-in stage twice.
Faker sets record for having the highest win rate at Worlds
T1’s star player Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok set a new record at Worlds 2022, arguably making him the greatest player to set foot on the Summoner’s Rift. On 9th October, on Day 3 of Worlds 2022, Faker played his 100th World Championship match and closed it out in style with a win. The victory against Cloud9 in the Group Stage, Faker’s 100th Worlds game, added yet another feather to his hat and marked a milestone in his storied career. Now, the pro player has a remarkable win rate of over 71% at Worlds.
Faker also has the most kills at Worlds
Following the match against Fnatic on 13th October at Worlds 2022, Faker set a new record for the most collective kills in Worlds history after he surpassed former attack damage carry (ADC) player Jian "Uzi" Zi-Hao’s record of 350 kills. Faker crossed the 350 kill-mark after he put up a dominant showing against the European squad of Fnatic in the group stage. After this game, every kill that he has picked up in the tournament has only added to his impressive kill record, making him the “Unkillable Demon King.”
Worlds 2022 will set a record for the oldest players to win Worlds
Regardless of the result of the T1 vs DRX matchup in the grand final of Worlds 2022, the winner of this year’s Worlds will set a new record for the oldest players to hoist the Summoner’s Cup.
Korizon Esports’ Kevin Kim wrote, “In the upcoming #Worlds2022 finals, regardless of which team wins, the record for the oldest player to ever win Worlds, which is currently held by Ambition, who won the 2017 Worlds when he was 25 years old, will be broken by either Faker or Deft, who are both 26 years old.”
T1’s oldest player is the GOAT himself Faker and on the other side of the Rift, we have DRX’s ADC Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu. Both players are 26 years old.
Slowest damage dealt in a Worlds game
According to Twitter user MoleculeLoL, it has been revealed that Royal Never Give Up’s (RNG) support, Shi “Ming” Sen-Ming, has reportedly set the record for the slowest damage dealt in a Worlds game. In the match between RNG and T1, Ming on the Nautilus dealt his first damage to an enemy champion at 21:06 minutes.
Additionally, if T1 wins Worlds 2022, the team will become the first and only team to have four championship titles (formerly SK Telecom T1). Faker will also become the only pro player to have won four titles during his decade-long career.
