Top 6 Teams to Watch in Worlds Play-ins

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Here are the play-in teams we are most hyped for

Boyan Penev

League of Legends - September 26th 2021, 21:30 GMT+2

LNG LPL Esports — 1. **LNG Esports**: This summer, LNG proved to be one of the big underdog stories of the LP. The teamstarted very strong but began to suffer around the end of the season and ended in a big 4-8th place tie. This team had to fight no less than seven series to get to Worlds, going through a who’s who of the LPL and only losing toeventual finalists EDG and EDward Gaming. LGD is the ultimate underdog of the Chinese league, often carried by its players’ fighting spirit and the powerhouse jungler Lee "**Tarzan**" Seung-yong. © LPL/Riot Games

HLE Poster Hle — 2. **Hanwha Life Esports**: Many fans did not expect to see Hanwha Life at Worlds. The team was lukewarm at best in the summer, missing the playoffs with a 7-11 record. Still, their third place in spring was enough to get them to the regional finals and there, we saw a different HLE. Jeong "**Chovy**" Ji-hoon and Kim "**Deft**" Hyuk-kyu stepped up to the plate and Hanwha earned their Worlds spot by beating Liiv SANDBOX and NS RedForce, even taking third place team T1 to five games. Can HLE keep this up?© Hanwha Life Esports

C9group — 3. **Cloud9**: Boasting the best international resume of all NA teams, Cloud9 was the LCS spring champion, but were not able to repeat their run in the summer. After an early loss to Team Liquid in the playoffs, they had to fight their way through the lower bracket. A 3-2 victory against old rivals TSM secured them a Worlds spot. It might not seem like much, but hey, the last time C9 had to fight through the play-ins, they made it all the way to the semifinals. Plus, when it comes to being clutch at Worlds, few do it better than Luka "**Perkz**" Perković. © Riot Games

Beyond3 — 4. **Beyond Gaming:** Now, you might be thinking "who are they and why should I care?" Well, the PCS has been a bit of a dark horse in recent years. However, we saw at MSI they are no joke and their glory days may not be quite so gone yet. Beyond Gaming only started competing this year, but both splits they fought their way to the finals. International fans may remember their ADC Chiu "**Doggo**" Tzu-Chuan, who played as a substitute for PSG Talon at MSI. © Riot Games / Pacific Championship Series

DFM team2 — 5. **Detonation FocusMe**: This team has been the international face of the **LJL** more often than not and while they have been close to causing an upset many times, they never quite managed it. However, at MSI, they showed themselves to be a tough opponent for major league representatives, even getting a win against LCS champions Cloud9. They did all this with their coach subbed in as a substitute support player due to visa issues. For Worlds, they are bringing their best. Will it be enough for us to finally see a LJL team in the Worlds groups? © Riot Games

LCO peace2 — 6. **Peace**: Don't let the name fool you, this team knows how to bide its time and when to go for the jugular. The rest of the LCO found that the hard way when the team that clinched the last playoff spot in the summer split went on a rampage, dethroning spring champions. Peace come to Worlds ready to serve some upsets. A series of visa issues resulted in them needing a substitute top laner - and they managed to secure the services of recently un-retired Kiss "**Vizicsacsi**" Tamás. Will the LEC veteran show he has more in the tank and will Peace’s miracles continue? © Riot Games

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It’s been a long and eventful year in professional League of Legends and now, it’s time to set our eyes on Worlds. The Play-in stage brings the champions of the minor leagues together with the lower-seeded teams of the LCK, LPL, LCS and the PCS. Sadly, the VCS champions will once more be unable to attend, but there is still plenty to see at the Worlds play-ins. While all the teams deserve your attention, here are six we are particularly interested in.

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