Worlds 2021: Results of the first round of Play-In

The group stage of the Play-In stage at Worlds 2021 has come to an end and we can already sum up the first results. I watched almost all the games in order to have a complete picture of each team, but it should be borne in mind that this is just my opinion and it is not the ultimate truth. Let's start.

First of all, I would like to rejoice for DetonatioN FocusMe: the Japanese really confirmed the status of a strong team earned at MSI 2021 and deservedly passed to the group stage from the first place in the group.

I must admit that at first their play caused me great concern, and to be precise, the game and the Evi champion pool, but in the tiebreaker against Cloud9 he showed himself in all its glory.

But who did not live up to expectations, it was Infinity Esports: the low level of play of each of the team members did not allow the Latin Americans to take even the map in the group stage, which led to the departure from the last place of the group. In fact, it was very sad to see such a picture, as they performed very well at MSI 2021 and from them, as well as from the Japanese, I expected a beautiful game and a pass to the next stage of the tournament.

The performance of Unicorns Of Love... put me in a stupor. On the one hand, they played the first two days against Galatasaray Esports, Beyond Gaming and DetonatioN FocusMe with absolutely no idea and very badly, and then suddenly showed themselves in all their glory in the match against Cloud9.

Most likely it will be a bad comparison, but here I will give the following characterization to the UOL team: "we play only when it is necessary". If you look at the results of LCL Summer 2021, then, in fact, they should not have passed not only the Worlds, but even the split finals, but they were really lucky. I would like to see a team from the CIS always in good shape, and not when there is nowhere to retreat.

To whom I have no questions is LNG Esports. The guys just proved that they shouldn't be in this Play-In stage and calmly won every match without even feeling any big problems against Chovy and the company. Speaking of them...

Hanwha Life Esports played very badly this Play-In stage. Many can say, they say: "but they passed to the next stage, especially from second place, losing only to the Chinese, is that bad?" But I will say that the problem here is HOW they won these games.

The champion pool for the team from the main region of the world was very poor, and the game itself, with the exception of the forester, was poor. They should certainly make it to the group stage purely from experience, but it will be extremely difficult for them to advance from the group to the playoffs if they do not take action soon.

The Brazilians from RED Canids... did not give me absolutely any emotions or thoughts. Seriously. Their game is so "insipid" that I don't even have the words to describe it. I don't think they will be able to make it to the group stage.

PEACE was pleasantly surprised to advance to the next round of the competition. For me personally, this team was in 5th place in Group A, being the main contenders for elimination, but as the Australians showed with Vizicsacsi, it is too early for them to leave Worlds 2021.

I loved the progress that PEACE showed with every game and every day. Even if they did not manage to defeat the giants of the group in the person of HLE and LNG, their two victories were the result of very hard and fruitful work.

Galatasaray Esports have left a mixed impression at the moment. The Turks showed themselves just fine on the first day and fought hard on the second, but could not earn more than 2 victories in the group. They have a very large pool of champions and non-standard templates, which they have already shown us, and I would really like to see this team in the group stage. They just need to collect their thoughts.

Beyond Gaming have confirmed concerns that only one Doggo is playing there. Throughout the group stage of the Play-In stage, I repeated this in my predictions. The whole game of the team is built around the 4 + 1 composition, and it will not always be winning.

I would like to see the guys from the Pacific region in the group stage, but I'm afraid that with such an approach to the game, they will not be able to go beyond the Play-In.

My story ends with the Cloud9 team. They again had a story common to all American teams: underestimating the enemy in the most important match. A win over UOL would have guaranteed them a place in the group stage, but they just played badly that map with a very good pick, depriving themselves of the winning chances. Then there were tiebreakers with DFM, where the Japanese, it seems, just "moved" the LCS representatives in class. I have big fears that the guys might not make it to the group stage if they don't put aside their prejudices about weak teams at this stage. These are Worlds and there are no weak ones here.

These were my thoughts on the first stage of the Play-In at Worlds 2021. Follow the matches, as well as read the predictions for the matches here. See you!