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DRX vs T1: Worlds 2022 Final

DRX defeated T1 3-2 in the Worlds 2022 final, completing a historic run from the play-in stage after five games at San Francisco’s Chase Center. Read the.

DRX and T1 on stage during the Worlds 2022 final
DRX completed its play-in-to-champion run by defeating T1 3-2.

DRX defeated T1 3-2 on November 5 to win the 2022 League of Legends World Championship. The result completed an unprecedented path from the play-in stage to the title and gave Deft his first Summoner’s Cup after a career spent chasing the game’s largest prize.

Road to the final

DRX advanced from play-ins, topped its main-event group and survived a quarterfinal against defending champion EDward Gaming after falling two games behind. It then beat Gen.G 3-1. T1 won its group, eliminated Royal Never Give Up and JD Gaming, and entered the final with Faker seeking a fourth world title.

How the series unfolded

T1 won Game 1, DRX levelled, and T1 moved ahead again in Game 3 despite DRX creating objective opportunities. DRX responded in Game 4 and forced Silver Scrapes. In the deciding game, T1 threatened the base, but DRX held, secured the late Elder Dragon sequence and ended the series. Kingen’s Aatrox performance earned finals MVP.

The decisive competitive detail

DRX refused to let failed objective setups define the next decision. The team lost multiple Smites and still continued creating map states where another contest was possible. Draft confidence around Kingen and Zeka gave DRX lanes that could carry pressure, while coordinated responses prevented T1’s side-lane threats from ending the game early.

Why the result still matters

DRX became the first world champion to start in play-ins, turning a low seed into the defining underdog run in League history. The final also connected two veteran careers: Deft won the title while former schoolmate Faker finished one game short. Its five-game structure, repeated recoveries and final Elder fight keep it central to Worlds history.

Series scores and event context were checked against published tournament records. The analysis separates the documented result from interpretation of the teams’ decisions and form.

Source: official release information.

Read more in our practical guides and browse the Kaizensclan article archive.

Editorial note

Facts and mechanics were checked against the linked primary sources before publication.

This article was reviewed on August 7, 2026.

Portrait of Marta Kovács
Written by

Senior esports editor

Marta started covering Counter-Strike in small LAN halls before moving into event reporting and long-form match analysis. Her work follows the decisions hidden by a final score: how an economy was protected, why a rotation arrived late and what a roster change asks a team to relearn. She leads Kaizensclan’s esports desk and edits reporting that crosses more than one competitive scene.

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