With Worlds 2022 about to begin, the League of Legends Championship Series’ (LCS) 100 Thieves is one of the 24 teams from across the world making their way to the biggest event of the year. Every team entering the League of Legends World Championship has the same goal: to stand at the top uncontested and hoist the Season 12 Summoner’s Cup high.
The fourth organization to ever win an LCS championship, 100 Thieves has been one of the most consistent teams in North America in the last two years. They ended second in both splits in 2022 and captured the LCS championship in last year’s Summer Split. Will this be the first time the North American representatives make it out of the group stages?
100 Thieves (LCS) Worlds 2022 starting roster breakdown
- Top: Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho, signed Dec. 2019
- Jungle: Can “Closer” Çelik, signed Nov. 2020
- Mid: Felix “Abbedagge” Braun, signed Apr. 2021
- Bot: Victor “FBI” Huang, Nov. 2020
- Support: Choi “Huhi” Jae-hyun, signed Nov. 2020
How they got here
100 Thieves left the last 2021 Summer Split as the best team in North America by winning the 2021 Summer Split championship. In 2022, 100 Thieves came back in with the same form. In 2022, 100 Thieves was consistently in the top three of the LCS. They ended the Spring Split in third place with a 12-6 record and ended the Summer Split with a 14-4 record, giving them third.
Playoffs are where 100 Thieves has always performed. They swept Cloud 9 in the spring playoffs and had one of the best series the LCS has ever seen against Team Liquid; a series that ended in a Nexus backdoor at the hands of Abbedagge’s Twisted Fate.
The read by @closerlol was EVERYTHING. #100T pic.twitter.com/NmAlW7l5fr
— 100 Thieves Esports (@100T_Esports) April 17, 2022
Unfortunately, the Spring Split ended with 100 Thieves getting second, despite monster performances from Ssumday throughout the playoffs.
The Summer Split was more of the same for the thieves. They once again won a series against Team Liquid that went all five games to send the super team to the lower bracket. 100 Thieves was sent to the lower bracket by Cloud 9 and was defeated by them again despite fighting their way back from the losers bracket. With the two second-place finishes, 100 Thieves punched their tickets to Worlds 2022.
Players to Watch
If there is one player who has consistently carried 100 Thieves over the last two years, it is Closer. He has shown time and time again, that when the pressure comes down on the team he is able to handle it. In a meta where Lee Sin was only picked twice during the playoffs, Closer showed why he is just a level above the rest.
KRAL CLOSER 👑 #LCS pic.twitter.com/CmcUH6F4Iu
— LCS (@LCSOfficial) August 28, 2022
In the playoffs last year it was Closer that made the game-winning call to backdoor Team Liquid’s Nexus with Twisted Fate’s Destiny at the final moments. It is usually Closer speaking for the team in press conferences and interviews. In many ways, the Turkish jungler is the heart and soul of this team.
How can 100 Thieves succeed at the World Championships?
With 100 Thieves’ second-place finish in the LCS, they have a direct ticket to the group stages of the 2022 World Championships. They are in the same group as LCK 1st seed Gen.G and the 1st seed from the PCS, CTBC Flying Oyster. While the prospects of winning against Gen.G are slim, they only need second in their group to move forward to the semi-finals for the first time in the organization’s history.
There are a lot of chances for this team to create an identity for themselves at worlds. Several picks that the team has relied upon over the past split are going to be relevant in the latest patch. FBI and Huhi have practiced the Lucian Nami bot lane combo to great success. Ssumday has been able to perform on tanks like Ornn and Sejuani while having mastery over strong bruisers like Aatrox. However, the most important part of this team will always be Closer, who will have his pick of jungle champions to choose from. His signature Lee Sin has been buffed in the most recent patch and Hecarim will also be in the meta. 100 Thieves could surprise everyone this year.
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