(Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)
It’s been a bad few days for European League of Legends as all four LEC teams at Worlds 2023 failed to progress to the Worlds playoffs.
Team BDS were knocked out after three straight defeats to JDG, NRG and Gam Esports, while Mad Lions only managed to pick up one win vs BDS.
Fnatic and G2 came the closest to progressing to the final eight, with two wins and three losses each.
It will be particularly painful for G2 fans, who saw their team win their first couple of games against Dplus and Weibo Gaming, before losing to Gen.G, NRG and BLG.
It was the first time since Worlds 2014 that EU teams failed to reach the final eight. The playoffs teams for Worlds 2023 will be Gen.G, JDG, LNG, NRG, T1, BLG, KT Rolster and Weibo Gaming.
‘We felt so strong, so now we feel so stupid’ – G2 LoL general manager
Romain Bigeard said on X: “Sorry. We are so ashamed and disappointed. All this hard work for not even making it to quarter finals. What a terrible way to end the year. The harsh reality of competition humbled us right in the face.
“I’ve never seen a group so completely buying into a project for so many months in a row. We played 900+ scrims, countless soloQ, VODs, 1v1, 2v2, daily 1o1, we controlled our food, our sleep, the way we talk, breathe, exercise, energise, how we recover, our offdays, gamedays, traveldays. Never surrender, tryhard scrims, challenge the comfort zone, discuss every detail. We really thought that we would go far.
“We felt so strong, so now we feel so stupid. What a sour taste. Time for some rest.”
‘We’re proud of the commitment the team put in’ – Fnatic
Fnatic said on their X social media page: “From ninth place before the Summer 2023 LEC split, to being one of the last few teams to represent EU at Worlds, the odds were never in our favour. But we believed, you cheered on and we made it happen together.
“With our Worlds 2023 run ending here, we’re proud of the commitment the team put in to take us to the international stage against all odds. From those in the crowd to those watching from home, we want to thank you for believing in us throughout it all.
“We hear you, we see you and we love you. We’ll be back stronger, and we’re not stopping here. Once Fnatic, always Fnatic.”
Mad Lions promise to do better next year
Pad, who was named interim head coach for Mad Lions at Worlds 2023 in Korea, apologised for being knocked out.
He said: “First of all, sorry that we didnt make it further. Second, please forward all hate and frustrations towards me, and not my players, they are already beating themselves up much more than you ever will. I promise our Mad fans, EU fans and doubters that we’ll do better next year.
“Three years of service, three LEC titles, three Worlds appearances, two MSI appearances, two years as assistant coach, one as strategic coach and one Worlds as head coach. Not enough for Mad, so I am LFT. Please reach out to Fabian Broich and Mac. What a sad ending.”
‘It’s incredible we made it this far’ – Team BDS
Team BDS said: “So ends our journey at our first Worlds. It’s already incredible that we made it this far. Thank you again for all your support during these Worlds. Thanks to everyone who believed in us from the beginning of this team. See you next year.”
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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.
