Who needs the meta? DFM earn another win at Worlds 2022 with unorthodox champions

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Three days into the 2022 League of Legends World Championship play-ins stage and it’s still too difficult to say which teams are headed to groups, but the LJL’s DetonatioN FocusMe are on track to possibly secure a second consecutive group stage run after earning their second win today by taking down the PCS’ Beyond Gaming.

This victory came from the team’s willingness to bring comfort picks to the Worlds stage, something only a few teams have chosen to do in play-ins so far.

DFM made history for the LJL last year by being the first team from the region to advance to the group stage. Should they stick to the playstyle they showcased today, they may be able to bounce back from a winless group run into one in which they contest the best the world has to offer.

The power of comfort picks

Most of the metas in League this year have forced teams to stick to very particular team compositions. Only very rarely have players been able to venture away from those meta picks into comfort ones, and even fewer players have been successful in doing so.

DFM, seeking to separate themselves further from the lower half of group A, opted to craft a team over their own complete with multiple champions that, while aren’t the strongest in their roles, are ones that their players know they can play well. In particular, the team’s top laner, Evi, brought Lillia back to the Rift, while mid laner Yaharong aimed to strike fear in his opponents with Vex.

This wasn’t just any top lane Lillia, however—it was tank top lane Lillia. This peculiar build in an unorthodox role began with a Frozen Heart rush, which would slow down the onslaught of attacks from Likai’s Gnar. With just this item, Evi ran laps around the members of BYG, escaping with little health even when he did get caught.

Chasing the Bashful Bloom proved to be worse than following the poison trail of a Singed for BYG, as Evi brought the PCS’ second seed straight into the hands of his teammates laying in wait. The combination of Lillia and Vex’s ultimates, as well as a lockdown from Harp’s Amumu, completely immobilized BYG’s meta team composition and left them unable to answer efficiently—even when they had the chance for a small lead.

Amumu finds even more friends

The support meta of the play-ins stage has almost entirely been dominated by tanks and engage champions. Amumu continues to be one of the most prioritized champions for support players, now at a 60-percent win rate across eight games, after being a prized pick across multiple regions toward the end of their respective Summer Splits.

While Amumu has been overwhelmingly paired with Miss Fortune, who has dominated the ADC meta at Worlds so far, Yutapon opted to accompany Harp’s Amumu with Kai’Sa. Playing as a champion that thrives with any item she can get, Yutapon enjoyed a large funneling of gold through hard engages from Harp—many of which were done without vision of the enemy jungler.

Throwing himself into clusters of enemies gave Harp’s lane partner all of the room he needed to burst through the large opposing health bars from safety. Thanks to the pressure from Harp, Yutapon walked away from DFM’s second win with a massive 12/3/11 KDA, completely removing the opposing bot lane from any interference.

It’s likely that Amumu will continue to be an important pick for teams, particularly those that emphasize their ADC’s ability to carry. Both teams in this match are set to take on the major Western regions tomorrow, as DFM will head into day four with a match against the LCS’ Evil Geniuses, while BYG will battle the LEC’s Fnatic.