The 2023 World Championship is set to kick off on October 10th, marking the most significant event of the year on League of Legends’ calendar. Leading up to this highly anticipated tournament, various content creators, including IWillDominate and YamatoCannon, have compiled their own rankings of players’ abilities. In their combined rankings, only a single Western player managed to secure a spot.
This lone Western player happens to be Mikyx from G2 Esports, and it’s quite surprising that both YamatoCannon and IWillDominate placed him in the 23rd position in their respective rankings. Consequently, Mikyx occupies the 21st spot in their overall list, as a result of their shared evaluation.
As anticipated, there are not many players from the LEC (League of Legends European Championship) and LCS (League of Legends Championship Series) who can claim a spot in the global power rankings. In the rankings provided by IWD and YamatoCannon, the top positions are dominated by renowned LCK (League of Legends Champions Korea) and LPL (League of Legends Pro League) stars, such as Ruler, Scout, Chovy, Knight, and 369, comprising the top five.
Nevertheless, this doesn’t imply that Western teams lack the potential to deliver surprises at Worlds 2023. Some organizations have a history of surpassing expectations and advancing to the knockout stage of the tournament, like G2 or Cloud9 in previous years. This year’s format, however, requires teams to win three matches to progress, adding an extra layer of challenge.
G2 enters the tournament as the LEC’s top seed, following their victory over Fnatic in the 2023 LEC Season Finals last month. Consequently, it comes as no surprise that G2 is considered one of the favorites to cause an upset. When considering Mikyx’s exceptional performance this year and his wealth of experience, it’s fair to label him as one of the top Western players participating in the event.
In summary, the 2023 World Championship commences on October 10th, starting with the play-in stage. A day prior, Team BDS secured their spot in the event with a convincing 3-0 victory over Golden Guardians.