100 Thieves bounce back from disastrous start to Worlds 2024

After a disappointing series against Rainbow7, North America’s third seed 100 Thieves found themselves on the verge of elimination this morning when they faced APAC’s second seed Softbank HAWKS.

Going into this series no one could say who the favorite was. Many saw the play-in stage as an opportunity for 100 Thieves to gain some Worlds experience before the real competition began on the Swiss Stage. Now, after losing their first series against Rainbow7 at Worlds 2024, no one could predict how 100 Thieves would perform.

Softbank HAWKS was considered by many to be a much stronger team than Rainbow7. But this series proved to be a statement match for 100 Thieves.

In the first game of the series, both 100 Thieves and Softbank HAWKS battled evenly for the first 20 minutes. This continued until the 26th minute, when 100 Thieves managed to capture the baron, which ultimately helped them secure game one.

Entering the second game, there was deja vu again. Just two days ago, 100 Thieves found themselves one game ahead against Rainbow7 and then fell to the bottom bracket. So to truly neutralize the naysayers, they needed to shake off the momentum from game one and finish the series convincingly.

Any shadows of doubt were immediately cast aside in game two as 100 Thieves jungler River and mid laner Quid teamed up on Nocturne and Orianna respectively to dominate Softbank Hawks early. By the 22nd minute, 100 Thieves had gained nearly 13 carats of gold with a Baron added to their name, and each player seemed revitalized as they wandered around Summoner’s Rift with pockets full of gold. The Thieves soon marched to the Softbank Hawks’ base and closed out the second game, setting their sights on APAC top seed PSG Talon, River’s former team.

Following their winning series against Softbank HAWKS, 100 Thieves are vying for the final match on the 2024 World Championship Swiss Stage. But North American fans shouldn’t wait any longer than at least three games before they face elimination from the tournament. Even if they get lucky with a draw with other North American teams, EMEA and even Rainbow7 (and we know how that ends), they’ll still be the underdogs if they make it to the 16-team Swiss stage.

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