Weibo Gaming’s Xiaohu claims one NA LoL player at Worlds 2023 ‘seems like a genius’

We’re on the eve of the Worlds 2023 Swiss Stage, where the first matchups will be played on Oct. 19. These will include LPL’s Weibo Gaming. Their mid laner Xiaohu is impressed by one of the players they will meet in their first matchup during the tournament.

The Chinese player claimed NRG’s Palafox “is powerful and seems like a genius,” he said in an interview with Naver.com, according to Google Translate. Xiaohu has some experience to back up his opinion since he underlined that Weibo Gaming had scrimmed against NRG already, and therefore he had the chance to face Palafox.

In the upcoming match, the Chinese representatives will surely be the favorites to grab the win. Despite “only” being LPL’s fourth seed, the league’s teams are recognized as much stronger than North American or European squads, including NRG.

NRG whole League of Legends team posing at Worlds 2023 media day. — _{NRG will have the chance to demonstrate their strength at Worlds 2023. Photo by Christian Betancourt via Riot Games}

Still, NRG can pull off an upset or two and have no better way to prove themselves besides surprising Weibo in the Swiss Stage of Worlds 2023. Palafox and crew stunned the North American audiences by winning the 2023 LCS Championship, becoming the region’s first seed at the international tournament.

For Palafox, Worlds 2023 will be his international debut, however. So, when it comes to experience, he will be greatly outranked by his lane opponent, Xiaohu, who has three Mid-Season Invitational titles under his belt, next to numerous Worlds appearances.

The Swiss Stage of the 2023 League of Legends World Championship kicks off on Thursday, Oct. 19. Besides NRG and Weibo, fans will have the chance to see other North American and Chinese teams. These include Cloud9, Team Liquid, LNG Esports, Bilibili Gaming, and MSI 2023 champions, JD Gaming.