After losing their opening matches, both the American and Japanese teams were on the verge of elimination.
For some teams, the Play-In Stage of the League of Legends World Championship 2024 (LoL Worlds 2024) turned out to be a nice warm-up session before the main tournament. But for others, it was a stressful experience and a tough challenge. No one wants to get to the pre-stage of Worlds 2024, lose two matches, and go home. But that’s exactly what happened to one of the teams in this pair. The stakes in the match between Fukuoka SoftBank HAWKS gaming and 100 Thieves were unforgivingly high.
Where to watch LoL Worlds 2024 SHG vs 100T
The SHG vs 100T stream is on this very page, so you can watch it below. The match happened on Sept. 28.
SHG vs 100T: Live score
Fukuoka SoftBank HAWKS gaming and 100 Thieves needed two games to proceed to the decider match. The goal was to join the LoL World Championship 2024 teams in the Swiss Stage. Check out the match’s live score in this section.
SHG 0:2 100T — 100 Thieves won the series
Game | Winner |
|---|---|
| 1 | 100 Thieves |
| 2 | 100 Thieves |
| 3 | - |
Matchups and champion picks
SHG (HAWKS) Picks | Fukuoka SoftBank HAWKS gaming | Position | 100 Thieves | 100T Picks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora (G1) Rek'Sai (G2 | Evi | Top | Sniper | Renekton (G1) Renekton (G2) |
| Wukong (G1) Sejuani (G2) | Forest | Jungle | River | Brand (G1) Nocturne (G2) |
| Akali (G1) Syndra (G2) | Dasher | Mid | Quid | Yone (G1) Orianna (G2) |
| Ezreal (G1) Jhin (G2) | Marble | Bot | Tomo | Kai'Sa (G1) Ashe (G2) |
| Poppy (G1) Alistar (G2) | Vsta | Support | Eyla | Leona (G1) Braum (G2) |
Banned Champions
Game | SHG Bans | 100T Bans |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ziggs, K'Sante, Jax, Sejuani, Nautilus | Kennen, Skarner, Vi, LeBlanc, Braum |
| 2 | Ziggs, Yone, Aurora, Jarvan IV, Wukong | Kennen, Vi, Skarner, Jax, Urgot |
| 3 | - | - |
Match recap: SHG vs 100T
There was a ray of hope for Fukuoka SoftBank HAWKS Gaming in the first half of Game 1. Their initial plan looked like developing their champions without unnecessary risks. However, it did not work. 100 Thieves had something similar in their mind, but they were willing to push and get themselves in dangerous yet potentially very rewarding positioning. This helped them win Game 1.
In Game 2, the North American powerhouse got momentum super early. It was complete domination for 100T, and SHG HAWKS couldn't do anything about that. Interesting picks in Game 3, like Rek'Sai on top, did not help the Japanese players advance in Worlds 2024.
100 Thieves will face PSG Talon in their decider match on Sept. 29. This momentum could serve as a powerful advantage for them!
“I’m pretty confident against PSG because I think we are a better team. We’re gonna win.”
“It is disappointing that as SHG, we were not able to do a good showing at Worlds. At the start of the year, however, we weren’t certain we would even make it to Worlds or we could even beat DFM. So, overall, we had a good run.”
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Game 1
Despite the slow pace of the game, 100 Thieves managed to grow their champions more effectively. The North American players regularly found great, albeit risky, positions to win difficult fights around various objectives. HAWKS looked somewhat disjointed and reluctant to take risks, and that prevented them from getting enough strength to challenge their opponents.
The advantage of 100 Thieves snowballed in the end. They won Game 1.
Game 2
100 Thieves had power in their hands after their initial success. They looked more confident in many small situations, and that helped them earn an early advantage. It made them unbeatable even before the Baron spawn: 11 more kills and 10,000 more gold.
PSG Talon got eliminated from this game and from the whole LoL Worlds 2024 tournament. Now,100T go for another Pacific Championship Series (PCS) representative — PSG Talon.
100 Thieves and Fukuoka HAWKS: Missteps and disasters
Both these teams lost their starting matches, and that’s never a good feeling. Still, the emotional weight they carry may differ due to pre-tournament expectations and the caliber of opponents faced by 100 Thieves and HAWKS.
100 Thieves arrived from the League Championship Series (LCS) as the 3rd North American team. They had a really great performance at the Summer 2024 Split, defeating Cloud9 and Dignitas. Their first match was against Rainbow7, a team from Latin America. Most people expected 100T taking a win here, but it was a close and chaotic match with R7 defeating 100 Thieves despite the odds. This setback was costly for the North American players. Still, 100T properly recovered to face HAWKS.
Fukuoka SoftBank HAWKS gaming is a Japanese team competing in the Pacific Championship PCS. The players progressed through the previous couple of years, as HAWKS finished 2nd in both regional splits in 2024. At the same time, HAWKS couldn’t defeat PSG Talon, the best PCS team, and the expectations from them were reasonable before Worlds.
In their first match, Fukuoka SoftBank HAWKS gaming faced the best Vietnamese team — GAM Esports. As an underdog, they fought well, but somewhat stumbled in various situations and lost both games. While this wasn't the result they had dreamed of, it was not a surprising outcome. Overall, their prior experience helped keep the emotional impact manageable. However, this ultimately proved to be a minor factor that did not help SHG in their match against 100 Thieves.
Two teams have already advanced from the Play-Ins to the Swiss Stage: MAD Lions KOI and GAM Esports. The remaining spots will go to the winners of the decider matches happening on Sept. 29. The LoL Worlds 2024 Swiss Stage then starts on Oct. 3. Stick around on esports.gg for more news and updates!
