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Image via Riot Games
T1 vs. C9 was the most dominant game of the day. The #2 seed from Korea dominated the North American team in a 22-minute victory. NRG and MAD brought the average game time at Worlds back up in one of the most ridiculous games of the tournament. A 41-minute fiesta that ended in an Elder Flip and a backdoor simultaneously. The final two games of the day were the best ones from a quality perspective. FNC seemed to have a chance against BLG with a glorious early game plan around Razork's Ivern. The LPL team looked completely inexperienced against the pick, which is expected as the champion was only picked 11 times throughout the Chinese Summer Split. The European team developed a respectable early lead, but their comp was tough to execute and they made one too many mistakes. Elk led his team to victory with an MVP performance on Tristana, with some gorgeous team-fighting from Bin. There are no Groups in Worlds 2023, but KT invented a group of Death for themselves regardless. After facing LPL #2 and LCK #4, they drew WBG, the LPL 4th seed, but nothing seems to be stopping them now. The team played a nearly flawless snowball until they pushed too far around the 20-minute mark, but they kept their composure and never lost the massive gold lead they had accrued. BDD and Lehends had some incredible moments throughout the game and managed to take down the Chinese squad. This was the best game of the day, so if you only have an hour or so available, this is the one you should watch.Image via Riot Games
These are the first elimination matches at this stage of the tournament. TL and DK should be clear favourites here, but BDS have had their moments and TL looked very off in their match against NRG. Who's heading back home tomorrow and who'll be getting another chance to fight for their tournament lives?