100 Thieves bounce back from abysmal start to Worlds 2024
After a disappointin series against Rainbow7, North American third seed 100 Thieves found themselves at the brink of elimination this morning as they took on APAC second seed Softbank HAWKS.
Heading into this series, nobody could tell who was the favorite. Many saw the play-in stage as an opportunity for 100 Thieves to gain some Worlds experience before the actual challenge began in the Swiss Stage. Now, after losing their first series at Worlds 2024 against Rainbow7, nobody could predict how 100 Thieves would perform.
Softbank HAWKS were seen by many as a much stronger team than Rainbow7. This series, however, proved to be a statement match for 100 Thieves.
100 Thieves eye Worlds 2024 Swiss Stage after 2-0 series
Four for nothing! #Worlds2024 pic.twitter.com/it8BRVmCgR
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) September 28, 2024
The first game of the series saw both 100 Thieves and the Softbank HAWKS battle evenly throughout the first 20 minutes. That continued up until the 26-minute mark when 100 Thieves were able to secure baron which ultimately helped them secure game one.
Game 2
It was deja vu all over again going into game two. Just two days ago, 100 Thieves found themselves up one game over Rainbow7 before getting reverse-swept into the lower bracket. So in order to truly negate the naysayers, they would need to ride off of the momentum from game one and end the series in convincing fashion.
All shadows of doubt were pushed aside in game two instantaneously as 100 Thieves jungler River and mid laner Quid joined together on Nocturne and Orianna, respectively, to dominate the Softbank Hawks early. The 22-minute mark saw 100 Thieves up nearly 13k gold with a Baron attached to their names as each player looked revitalized roaming Summoner’s Rift with their gold-filled pockets. The Thieves marched into the base of the Softbank Hawks shortly after to close out game two with their sights set on River’s former team, APAC first seed PSG Talon.
What's Next?
After their dominant series against the Softbank HAWKS, 100 Thieves pose as a contender to grab the final sport into the Worlds 2024 Swiss Stage. However, North American fans should not expect anything more than the minimum three matches before they face elimination from the tournament. Even if they were to get lucky by drawing other North American teams, EMEA or possibly even Rainbow7 (and we know how that ended), they are still the weakest team should they make it to the 16-team Swiss stage.
Those looking to keep up with the Worlds 2024 schedule should also be sure to fill out their Pick’Ems to gain free rewards throughout the tournament.
Sage got his start in esports as a volunteer writer in 2016 for esports organization, Dignitas. Since then, he has continued to work on his craft as a journalist and reporter for a number of established esports publications, such as esports.gg, Unikrn, Akshon Esports, Howla, The Player’s Lobby, Nerd Street Gamers, and most recently Dot Esports. Now, as a member of Esports Illustrated’s content team, Sage’s primary duties are centered around creating groundbreaking written and video content about the esports industry that impacts the community in a meaningful way. Sage graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and Informatics. There, he was a member of the Rutgers Esports Executive Board, both as the head of the fighting game community and a videographer/photographer for the Content team.