2014 was the first year I got into League and the first time I actively watched Worlds and it's still one of my all time favorites, just for all the storylines. Alliance Vs. Kabum, the aggro early games, Svenskeren being suspended giving TSM a golden ticket to Quarters...which they STILL almost botched and had to settle for second place, Hai's Metal Gear Solid attempt on Zed, the OMG Vs. Fnatic Nexus heartbreak, Alliance PERFECT GAMING Najin White Shield, Samsung White absolutely EATING Samsung Blue ALIVE in Semifinals after Blue had had White's number all year and dade handing his jacket to Pawn to signify that HE was The General now...oh, and all this was while FAKER wasn't even ATTENDING...
...but at the end of the day, I'm still going to say THIS year's worlds was better, just because of DRX's miracle run. At the start of Season 4 worlds, most people were predicting Samsung White or Blue to win it all, IIRC, and the finals was the most one-sided 3-1 I've ever seen. Compare that to DRX whom nobody expected to accomplish ANYTHING besides making it out of play ins, going through the REIGNING WORLD CHAMPIONS, the TOP TEAM IN THEIR REGION, WHOM THEY HADN'T WON A GAME AGAINST ALL YEAR, AND THE GREATEST TEAM LEAGUE OF LEGENDS HAS EVER SEEN, LED BY THE GREATEST PLAYER IN ESPORTS HISTORY... and that's BEFORE even getting into the personal story of Deft's Last Dance, him having gone to the same High School as Faker, the Inhibitor Heartbreak ON HIS BIRTHDAY, and even Zeka ABSOLUTELY GOING SUPER SAYIAN against the likes of SCOUT, CHOVY and, again, FUCKING GOD HIMSELF IN THE FINALS...
As someone who got their university degree in Creative Writing, storylines like this warm my heart to know that such fairy tales ARE possible in real life, and break my heart because if you tried to WRITE a story like this in fiction, it would be dismissed as unrealistic and unbelievable. This world may not have had as many smaller stories as 2014, but the "Main Storyline" itself was absolutely perfect. The ONE detail I would have changed would be to have DRX barely making it out of play-ins, groups and their match against Gen.G being a 3-2, just to REALLY milk the Cinderella story for EVERY last drop...but maybe that WOULD have been a little too much...
I'll always love Season 4 worlds for it's stories...but I'm gonna put it out there and say that 2022 worlds is the GREATEST story not just in League of Legends, but in esports HISTORY.