Gen.G vs. DRX recap: Worlds 2022 Semifinals

LCK fourth seed DRX upset LCK first seed Gen.G in the 2022 League of Legends World Championship Knockout Stage on Oct. 30 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

The surprise of the tournament — and one of the biggest underdog stories in "League of Legends" esports history — DRX overcame LPL third seed/reigning world champion EDward Gaming and tournament favorite Gen.G to become the first Play-In team to ever make the Worlds Final, where they will face LCK second seed T1 at 5 p.m. PDT on Nov. 5 at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California.

Game 1: Gen.G wins

Gen.G took the first lead of the series with a 12-2 win against DRX in 29:39. While DRX's unique draft was relatively straightforward, the team didn't look their best in Game 1 and failed to accrue a gold lead larger than 672. Through 24 minutes, the game was still winnable for DRX — outside of a three tower lead for GEN — until ultimate whiffs from DRX jungler Hong "Pyosik" Chang-hyeon and botlaner Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu gave GEN two kills, a Baron and an even drake score at two. DRX only found two kills and two towers in the game, as toplaner Hwang "Kingen" Seong-hoon's Camille and Deft's Miss Fortune were unable to carve out any major advantages after an early play bot lane gave the toplaner first blood. Despite the bot lane focus, GEN botlaner Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk's 5/0/3 Varus was untouched.

Game 2: DRX wins

DRX struck back with a 9-3 comeback win in 39:23 to even up the series. The game started slow and messy for both teams, with just one kill and two drakes between them until 19 minutes, but DRX found the picks and objective control they needed to win the low-kill game. GEN played scared late in the game and made poor macro decisions, and jungler Han "Peanut" Wang-ho was caught out and punished numerous times. DRX turned their late game teamfight advantage into multiple towers, Infernal Soul, Baron Nashor, an inhibitor, Elder Dragon and eventually the game, capped off by a swift base demolition by Deft and support Cho "BeryL" Geon-hee. Deft went 5/0/3 and demonstrated why Caitlyn is the most banned champion at Worlds 2022, while Kingen's 2/1/4 Gragas acted as the team's bulwark.

Game 3: DRX wins

The underdog DRX moved to match point with a 20-5 Game 3 win in 30:09. Gen.G's draft relied heavily on midlaner Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon's Azir and Ruler's Ezreal to deal damage, but DRX's Pyosik and midlaner Kim "Zeka" Geon-woo were the stars of the game, combining for a 13/0/9 KDA on Viego and Akali. Zeka netted his 11th solo kill to take the tournament lead from JD Gaming toplaner Bai "369" Jia-Hao, and his team took a 2-1 lead by turning a Zeka triple into a Baron, then turning a 4-for-0 teamfight into a destroyed nexus. DRX Kingen's 4/1/6 Ornn outclassed GEN toplaner Choi "Doran" Hyeon-joon's 0/5/2 Sejuani, while Chovy's built-up Azir pick was taken apart and only notched a 1/4/2 scoreline.

Game 4: DRX wins

With a 15-8 win in 37:49 in Game 4, DRX Deft secured his first ticket to the Worlds Final in ten seasons of play by overcoming the organization that beat him in 2014 Worlds Semifinals. Gen.G played uncharacteristically poorly, with GEN Chovy wasting Flash and not having it for a key Baron teamfight and Peanut being caught out over and over. After DRX secured Ocean Soul, they won a 4-for-2 teamfight and peeled to take Baron. DRX then caught out GEN support Son "Lehends" Si-woo, took two inhibitors and won the series, upsetting the top seed from Korea in a series to remember. Deft's Varus went 5/0/6.

Featured image by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games.