DWG KIA won the League of Legends Champions Korea spring playoff final with a 3-0 win over Gen.G on April 10 in Seoul.
After a clean sweep against Hanwha Life Esports in the semifinals, DWG KIA repeated the feat in the finals and lifted the LCK spring split trophy. The 2020 League of Legends world champions will now represent South Korea at the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational in Group C.
Congratulations to @DWGKIA on winning #LCK Spring and being the first team to qualify for #MSI2021! pic.twitter.com/HMGPU58pPn
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) April 10, 2021
A dominant regular season for DWG KIA
Since winning Worlds in 2020, DWG KIA have continued their impressive performance in the LCK. They won the 2020 KeSPA cup without dropping a single game in their group. Moreover, in the entire KeSPA cup tournament, they only lost one game in all the series played.
After announcing the departure of their coaches, DWG KIA hired legendary veteran Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun. They also brought in a former T1 player, Kim “Khan” Dong-ha, to replace top laner Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon, who left for to play for Chinese squad FunPlus Phoenix. Even with these changes, DWG KIA showed few signs of weakness during the regular season of the spring split. They finished the regular split with a 16-2 record only losing to Gen.G and Fredit BRION.
The demolition of a strong Gen.G
Gen.G qualified for the LCK spring playoffs after securing an impressive 3-0 victory over T1. Given that T1 had found their form in the recent weeks, Gen.G’s 3-0 win set fan expectations high for the finals. Also, although DWG KIA’s won their series against HLE in a clean sweep, their overall performance did not look convincing.
DWG KIA started Game 1 of the final with a Senna and Heimerdinger combination in bot lane. Their composition turned out to be a perfect answer for Gen.G, who found it hard to deal damage or even find good engages. Paired with Khan’s Sion and his instrumental flank positions, it was almost impossible for Gen.G to come out on top. DWG KIA closed out Game 1 in under 35 minutes with just one tower lost.
However, Gen.G were a much different team in Game 2. Khan’s Rumble struggled in lane against Kim “Rascal” Kwang-hee’s Volibear. DWG KIA found it hard to control the map with an overfed Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk on Tristana. Then, a team fight in the late game swung the match in DWG KIA’s favor. After picking the Baron and Dragon Soul, the reigning world champions recovered from their early game deficit and won Game 2 in 48 minutes.
After losing the first two games, Gen.G needed to play perfect League to have a chance at a reverse sweep. Unfortunately for them, DWG KIA ended their hopes with a dominant game from start to finish taking down the Nexus in just under 28 minutes. Khan’s impressive display throughout the series earned him the LCK spring split finals MVP award.
DWG KIA favorites heading to MSI
AS MSI draws nearer, there is no doubt that the LCK and world champions are the favorites to lift the trophy. Mid laner Heo “ShowMaker” Su said in a post-match interview that he would like to play international rival G2 Esports, but the League European Championship squad may not qualify. ShowMaker also mentioned that he is relishing the possibility of playing China’s FPX as that would give him a chance to trounce his former teammate in Nuguri.
With many regions MSI representatives still undecided, DAMWON must wait to see what teams will be getting tickets to Iceland alongside them.
