Faker is eyeing his first Worlds grand final in five years this weekend (photo by Jakub ‘Atroix’ Szmyt of Greyscale)
The stage is set, the world is watching, and League of Legends (LoL) esports will conclude its biggest match of the year this weekend as Korean teams T1 and DRX go head-to-head in the Worlds 2022 final.
And it’s a grand final packed full of storylines.
For Faker, this grand final match-up offers him and T1 their first Worlds grand final in five years, and for their opponents, DRX, the chance to solidify their incredible run in the tournament, which saw them become the first ever play-in team to advance to a Worlds final.
Beyond that, star players Faker (T1 mid-laner) and Deft (DRX bot laner) actually went to the same high school, with Faker storming ahead of Deft in terms of his LoL rank. This final offers Deft a chance to defeat his former classmate, on the world’s biggest stage. To top it off, the pair have played 100 LoL games against one another.
To delve further into these storylines, ask the players for their direct thoughts and soak up the atmosphere ahead of the Worlds 2022 final, Esports News UK was lucky enough to have esports broadcast production specialist Jakub ‘Atroix’ Szmyt and host and caster Ravish Khanna fly out to San Francisco to sit in the press conferences and grab some quotes and content for us.
Ravish Khanna asked Faker on behalf of Esports News UK: Mapo High School now has two World finalists (you and Deft). Do you expect more to come out of high school and are you the greatest Worlds finalist to come out of Mapo?
Faker answered: “We’re having new students every year, so it’s hard to predict, actually. Also, I didn’t graduate from my high school but I’ll do my best to become the most popular person in the Mapo area!” (audience laughs)
Deft added in a response to a question from Aaron Down from the Loadout: “[Faker and I] went to the same school and debuted in the same year. We started on the same starting line but then Faker was way ahead of me.
“There was a chance for me to catch up and close the gap, but this finals is a great opportunity for me to get my revenge on him.”
Faker told other members of the media in the T1 press conference: “Winning Worlds is a goal for every professional player, and making it happen is the biggest accomplishment. It would mean a lot to me [to win] as it’s been pretty long since I last won Worlds.
“Thanks for the support from the fans. After such a long time I was able to stay motivated and do my best. But not only that, I think the biggest motive as a professional player is the desire to win, and with that desire, I was able to get here.”
Expanding on his recent comments that ‘LCS is the best region in the world’, Faker added: “I really wish LCS can become the best region in the world and I’ve been playing a lot of NA solo queue [while here in the US], and it’s harder than Worlds, so I think it’s gonna happen next year for sure!” (audience laughs)
“Winning Worlds is a goal for every professional player, and making it happen is the biggest accomplishment. It would mean a lot to me [to win] as it’s been pretty long since I last won Worlds.”
Faker, T1
Deft also commented on numerous questions, on the togetherness DRX have, beating former teammates and more, saying: “All the [DRX] players have confidence and are having a great performance, but at the same time, I think what impacted us the most is the fact we went through thick and thin and were able to accumulate a lot of experience together and gain a lot of tenacity, and that was a major factor.
“I’ve been beating a lot of my former teammates, but if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be where I am right now, so I want to thank them too. Now that I’ve beaten so many of my former teammates, now I’m gonna beat my remaining former teammate [T1 support player Keria] and win Worlds.
“Also, we’re really grateful the fans in Mexico and LATAM are supporting us, and maybe in the future I’ll come back and have some tacos!”
DRX mid-laner Zeka added on going up against Faker in the final: “This is my first Worlds and I made it to my first ever Worlds finals. So I was able to play under way less pressure and was pretty much free from it. So as long as I play as I normally do, even though my opponent will be Faker, I’m pretty confident I will do my best and will do well.
“Just like we were performing so far, we were always the underdogs. With all your support I believe we can do our best.”
DRX top-laner Kingen commented: “I want to say thanks for all the support for DRX. I think there are a lot of points you can enjoy about this match-up. First of all, it’s gonna be Deft vs Faker, and then also the mindset of DRX is about enjoying the moment and doing your best, and we’ll be able to get the best result possible. If we can focus on that, it will be a great and entertaining match-up.
“And on the match-up with [T1 top-laner] Zeus, I have learnt a lot from him by watching how he plays. So I will try to analyse his playstyle and try to learn about his little quirks that he usually shows during the matches. We’ll be able to adapt that into our own corner and bring the win our supporters want.”
Elsewhere, there were press conferences by Riot Games and more. Music artist Lil Nas X, who will perform the Worlds 2022 song Star Walkin’ on stage this weekend, randomly spoke about British Prime Ministers and baked beans ahead of his UK tour.
The Worlds 2022 grand final between DRX and T1 kicks off midnight UK time on Saturday night going into Sunday morning. Esports News UK is hosting a Worlds 2022 final viewing party at Platform bar in London for this (now sold out).
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
