The soap opera of Worlds 2024 began even before the first games. LNG — LPL's third seed — faced legal issues to accommodate their star player, Lee "Scout" Ye-chan, because of a lawsuit from his former team, EDward Gaming, leading to the midlaner's travel ban in April 2024. With the help of some players to pay the fine in a timely fashion (Chen "GALA" Wei, Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk, and others), LNG finally got to confirm on the edge that their midlaner would eventually travel to Europe. Some would say they avoided the worst because the LPL third seed had already planned to bring JDG's player Zeng "Yagao" Qi to replace Scout.

Still before the start of hostilities, some were trying to suggest that the West would have a better chance than in previous years. In reality, everyone was aware that the gap between East and West was still considerable... The only hope in the dark seemed to rely on G2 Esports, who have been riding high all year on the LEC and have won every title possible at the regional level, as well as crushing the Chinese runner-up Top Esports at the MSI (3-0).

Similarly, despite being defending champions, T1 did not appear to be among the favorites for the competition. Especially as they pulled through the Regional Qualifier at the last hurdle against KT Rolster (3-2). The ones everyone is waiting for at the top of this year's competition have all been found: Gen.G and Bilibili Gaming.

The two Asian giants have dominated their respective regions all year, as well as meeting in the MSI final. However, certain factors tend to temper their status. Firstly, BLG recently changed its dynamic by replacing Peng ‘Xun’ Li-Xun with Yan ‘Wei’ Yang-Wei in the middle of the Summer Split. But the same applies to GEN, who arrive as the Korean seed 2 after falling to Hanwha Life Esports in the LCK final (2-3).

On your marks, get set, go!

On the first day at Berlin's Riot Arena, in front of a modest crowd, there were no surprises. The favourites won each of their matches, and the most exciting match-up between T1 and Top Esports lived up to its potential. Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok's team showed that they hadn't come to Europe to sightsee by putting on an early game masterclass, surely the best of the competition.

It was their management of the lane swap and the first 20 minutes that gave them their identity throughout the competition. But on this first day, the reigning world champions were still showing their weaknesses and finally lost to the Chinese seed 2 after a few poor fights. This was followed by the second draw show on the Swiss Stage, which left no one indifferent... Indeed, some of the balls drawn were empty, creating a moment of total incomprehension within the arena.

Despite this awkward moment, it was time to start day 2. LNG achieved the first upset of the tournament when they defeated the king of their region: Bilibili Gaming. This was thanks in no small part to Scout, who was close to missing out on the event and showed the full extent of his skills on Yone. The priority given to the champion was also beginning to change, and the meta was taking shape: when The Unforgotten survived the first phase of bans, he was almost systematically picked by the blue side team.

Other champions such as Jax, Rumble, Ashe, Galio, and Kalista, to name but a few, also began to climb up the rankings. On the same second day, G2 suffered a setback from Korean champion HLE in a game full of twists and turns that ended up being the longest of the whole tournament.

The third day was synonymous with the first qualifiers, but also with the first eliminations. And it was MAD Lions KOI who bore the brunt of it first, having been beaten by PSG Talon the day before, the same team they had defeated in the Play-Ins (2-1). This time it was the turn of GAM, another team coming from the previous stage, to send the Spanish team back to Madrid (1-2).

Brazilian champion paiN Gaming run also came to an end against Team Liquid (0-2), while on the other side, LNG qualified after a clear victory over Dplus KIA (2-0) and Gen.G took revenge for the LCK final by reaching Paris after a victory over HLE (2-1). In the same round, G2 became the first (and only in the tournament) Western team to triumph over an Asian organisation with a win over Weibo Gaming, thanks in particular to an outstanding Sergen ‘BrokenBlade’ Çelik. But the public was also rewarded with a T1 which toppled BLG, reshuffling the cards in terms of the balance of power that had separated them up until now and sinking the Chinese giant into doubt, one BO3 away from elimination.

The final sprint

Then came round 4 and with it, its fair share of surprises. First, Top Esports booked their ticket to Paris after an easy win over DK (2-0), followed by a showdown between the Korean seed 1 and the North American seed 1. In some tight games, where HLE often got the better of early, the Korean champion bled but still came away with the final victory, despite slipping up against Kacper ‘Inspired’ Słoma's unexpected Nunu (2-1).

The following day, one of the Swiss Stage Main Events was served up: G2 against T1. The European seed 1 tried his hand at the Nocturne-Orianna combo, and although it didn't work at all in game 1, it almost led to victory in game 2. But that was without the merciless Mun ‘Oner’ Hyeon-jun, who stole a decisive Nashor to temper the game and turn the tide in favor of the world champions (2-0).

Bilibili decided to take things in a new direction by bringing on their former jungler, Xun. It was a winning gamble for the organization, which ended up continuing with him until the end of the competition and won round 4 - not without difficulty - against PSG Talon: 2-0. Like Fnatic, which lost in three games to Weibo (1-2), and GAM, which suffered the same fate against TL (1-2), PSG was already saying goodbye to their dreams for 2024.

Round 5, the decisive one for the six remaining teams, has delivered. Weibo Gaming came from behind to beat DPlus, whose hot start to the tournament meant they needed more time to get their rookies up to scratch to reach the knockout stage (2-1). This was followed by another baptism of fire for G2, who had clearly not been blessed in the draw. The Samurai faced the LPL champion for a place in Paris, in a rematch of their round 5 in 2023.

And once again, they lost 1-2 after a very tight game 3 that saw prodigy Zhao ‘Elk’ Jia-Hao shine, at the end of a teamfight that he single-handedly turned around on his Ezreal. Once again, the promise of the European seed 1 was not fulfilled and they returned home empty-handed from a tournament that was nonetheless taking place on their own soil. Especially as this was the last chance for this roster, who are unlikely to continue their adventure together next year. In a remake of the LCS final, FlyQuest once again got the better of Team Liquid and found themselves in Paris as the last Western hope.

So close, yet so far

At the Adidas Arena, in front of more than 8,000 spectators, LNG Esports opened the proceedings against Weibo Gaming. Given the level of play displayed by the two teams, Scout and his team were inevitably favourites. But Weibo Gaming seemed to have got a head start in terms of their read on the meta, and struck a blow with a 3-1 win over the seed 3 from their region.

With a great Chen ‘Breathe’ Chen in particular wreaking havoc on his Gnar, LNG can blame themselves, especially given the resources deployed to ensure that the competition ran as smoothly as possible. Especially GALA, who had invested financial resources in his midlaner and found himself, for the fourth time in a row, collapsing in the quarter-finals of the tournament.

The Main Event of the quarter-finals pitted HLE against BLG, the Korean champion against the Chinese champion. Although the series lived up to its promise, with breathless games lasting 35 to 40 minutes, it was the Chinese giant who seemed to have recovered with the return of Xun and won in four rounds (3-1). With some very impressive teamfights played to the limit mechanically, Bilibili can once again thank his AD Carry, who put in another great performance in a decisive game 4.

T1 arrived in Paris as rock stars in an atmosphere that was much more buoyant than in previous days. With such a warm welcome, the world champions were obliged to show up, and they did. Keria - who had been a bit quiet since the start of the year and the Swiss Stage - gave a clear demonstration of the threat he represented. The prodigy once again created his own meta, with a masterful final performance on Pyke (3-0).

But the hidden banger came on the final day of the quarter-finals. Logically announced as the losers against Gen.G, FlyQuest wasted no time in drawing the entire Parisian audience into their train, well on its way to the semi-finals. The North American seed 1 used their first subterfuge with the Seraphine pick to secure a first clear victory over the supposedly untouchable Gen.G.

Against Kim ‘Canyon’ Geon-bu's Nidalee, FLY didn't last long but found themselves in possession of two match points thanks to an anthological game 3 from Fahad ‘Massu’ Abdulmalek on his Kai'Sa. The young AD Carry was still in his first competitive year, but thanks to his crazy end to the year, he almost unquestionably emerged as all-region Rookie of the Year. However, the Tigers ended up dealing the fatal blow to the West in this BO. With Smolder's Qs, Jeong 'Chovy' Ji-hoon simply blew away FlyQuest's semi-final dreams in Game 5 (3-2).

The City of Love

Then came the final step to find out which two teams would be heading to London with a chance of taking the crown home. One thing was certain: the final match would pit a Chinese team side by side with a Korean team. Indeed, in the semi-finals, it was the reigning world champions who faced the MSI champions, and last year's Worlds finalists who met the Chinese champions. This one was straightforward.

BLG's star toplaner set the tone as soon as he took to the stage, throwing his tracksuit into the crowd's stands to mark the occasion. With this opening move, it was impossible not to be assured of a place in the next round. Bilibili Gaming defeated Weibo Gaming, just like at home, in the LPL Summer Split final, in three rounds (3-0). Li ‘Xiaohu’ Yuan-Hao's team therefore did not get the chance to take revenge on T1 after last year's rout in the final.

The following day, it was the world champions who came out on top, in a venue that was once again totally committed to their cause. ZOFGK were victorious against the team they had never beaten in 2024: Gen.G. The team nobody expected to get so far at this year's Worlds proved once again that you should never count them out when the biggest tournament of the year arrives.

In four games, with only one truly close (the last), T1 prevailed, allowing them to defend their title in person in London. Lee ‘Gumayusi’ Min-hyeong, MVP of the series, even got to taste on stage a giant Parisian croissant that he had been dreaming of before traveling to the capital. And as he so aptly put it, the croissant - no doubt in the same vein as this victory - was ‘GOOOOOD’.

The Unkillable Demon King

The script was too good not to be lived up to. After defeating one of the big favourites, T1 were about to defend their crown against the other big favourite in the grand final. After a fine opening ceremony that saw Linkin Park reminding everyone just how heavy the crown was, the holders of it set off towards their destinies. Facing them were a BLG team determined to break the curse of the LPL against T1 (who have never lost a BO5 at the Worlds against China), and more broadly, against South Korea (5-1 in the Worlds final).

The first three games flew by, each time with one team far superior to the other. First BLG broke LCK's seed 4 on the red side. Then T1 regained the upper hand, before seeing their opponents get two match points thanks to a Kindred-Galio combo that was never troubled. It was then the turn of the Unkillable Demon King to wake his side up, in a game 4 that got off to a bad start and whose scaling seemed to be largely in China's favor.

With a clutch play on the midlane that only he still has the recipe for, after eleven years at the highest competitive level, Faker broke the deadlock and gave his team an important victory - much like his play on Azir in last year's semi-final against JDG. Silver Scrapes then rang out across the O2 Arena, and once again the teams went toe-to-toe for the title.

A teamfight then broke out at the drake and seemed to be going largely in the Chinese's favour, but it was - once again - without counting on the vision of the GOAT, who spotted Zhuo ‘knight’ Ding make one step too many, and instantly seized the opportunity to turn the play to T1's advantage. With the Nashor secured for their opponent, BLG attempted a last stand with a topside catch.

Once again, Faker kept a close eye on his ‘little brothers’ and turned the tide in T1's favour, aided by Keria who cancelled out the teleportation of the opposing midlaner in the shadow of the cameras. As they moved towards the toplane and destroyed the last Nexus, T1 moved in parallel towards the stairs of the O2 Arena to lift their second Summoner's Cup, back-to-back after winning League of Legends' Worlds 2024.

A little more legendary, Faker also picked up his second MVP award of the final. With two new skins under his belt, after his entry into the Hall of Legends with his famous Ahri skin earlier this year, there's no doubt that Riot Games is rubbing its hands... But we too, as spectators, can't help but do the same. Rub our hands, applaud, and even bow our heads to His Majesty, who has defended HIS crown for the fifth time in his long and unrivaled career.