Today in 2022 LCK Summer: Week 5, Day 2

The 2022 League of Legends Champions Korea summer season is well underway, with games happening five days a week. For fans that don’t have time to watch all the action but want to know what is going on, we at Upcomer are here to provide a daily recap of each day’s games. Here is what happened Wednesday in the 2022 LCK summer season.

KT upset DRX

KT Rolster and DRX have been somewhat inconsistent so far in the 2022 LCK summer split. Although DRX were expected to be a top-four team this season, they now have competition with teams like Liiv SANDBOX and KT’s sudden emergence. KT might still have a way to go, but their performance lately is undeniable.

Kingen shows up BIG and grabs a Triple Kill! #LCK pic.twitter.com/macGo8hbg7

— LCK (@LCK) July 14, 2022

Game 1 didn’t go as planned for KT — DRX showed out in the first game. The DRX bot lane combo of Ashe and Renata Glasc provided too much utility in team fights, which ensured DRX never lost. The game didn’t end quickly, but it was in DRX’s favor at any given point. After DRX won a fight around Baron 40 minutes in with Cloud Dragon Soul in hand, the favorites marched down mid-lane and ended the game.

DRX liked playing for the late game so much in Game 1 that they went even harder on scaling in Game 2. That strategy was going incredibly well for DRX; despite DRX’s comp sacrificing the early game in order to spike hard later, they still managed to control the early game with a 1.5k gold lead 10 minutes in, which was disastrous for KT.

Despite the early lead, the one advantage DRX didn’t have was in the bot lane. KT’s hyper-carry bot laner Kim “Aiming” Ha-ram was quietly getting very ahead on Aphelios, one of the best damage dealers in the entire game. Just 20 minutes into the game, Aiming already had four kills and a 60 CS lead making him the scariest player on the map. It was Aiming versus the world, and that battle was in a stalemate for a while; that opening should let DRX win the game. However, Aiming was simply better; with his presence, every objective was KT’s and with Mountain Dragon Soul, Aiming was unkillable; 44 minutes into the game, Aiming and KT pushed DRX to Game 3.

Aiming's Zeri will not be ignored! 😤 #LCK pic.twitter.com/UfUO1ShNuL

— LCK (@LCK) July 14, 2022

DRX banned away Aphelios in Game 3 but that just allowed Aiming to lock in Zeri instead. Aiming again showed why he was the best player on the map as he acquired first blood with the help of his jungler and support and the carry train started to crank its wheels once more. As Aiming and KT started to ramp up quickly, there was nothing DRX could do to hold off the inevitable.

With Aiming popping off in a 19-minute team fight on the top side of the map, the entirety of DRX were sent back to the fountain as KT got an ace before the 20-minute mark. Aiming was already 5/0/3 on Zeri with KT up 7k gold. The team couldn’t close the game out quickly but the gold lead still grew throughout the rest of the game. Finally, at the 28-minute mark, KT found another ace, Aiming ended the game with a 7/0/6 stat line and KT pulled off the series upset improving to 4-5.

DK take down KDF

DWG KIA came into Week 5 trying to get back on the path of consistency. After going 1-1 last week, the team is looking to start off a 2-0 week with a win over Kwangdong Freecs who actually came into Week 5 with a two-series win streak.

The Game 1 draft was promising for KDF, as they managed to acquire the powerful bot lane duo of Seraphine and Senna, but that soon would not matter. No team had an advantage until the eight-minute mark in the game when DK finally found an opening in the bot lane which allowed the team to pick up a late first blood.

Just a minute later — and with the exact same setup — DK found another kill in the bot lane, thanks to Kim “Kellin” Hyeong-gyu’s engage on Tahm Kench. That second kill set the tone for the game as DK proceeded to bully KDF; at the 25-minute mark, DK aced KDF and were up 7-0 in kills and had a 9k gold lead. DK proceeded to toy with KDF for the next several minutes, but decided that 34 minutes in was a good time to end it; DK concluded the game with an 18k gold lead and a 12-1 advantage on the scoreboard.

DK’s mid-laner Heo “ShowMaker” Su brought out Zilean for Game 2, which meant that KDF were in for a hell of a time. Despite the game having a decent amount of early fights, neither team was able to pull away in their tug-of-war; DK finally found their opening 22 minutes in with a skirmish that pushed KDF off of the top side of the map, allowing DK to peacefully take Baron. And with the kill and gold lead mounting, time was running out for KDF; their fatal mistake ended up not lost team fight, but a lapse in judgment when it came to trading objectives. With DK on the top side inhibitor, KDF were busy pushing mid-lane — but with DK’s top laner Jang “Nuguri” Hag-won able to stop recalls, DK took the base with no resistance, cleaning up the series 2-0 and leaving KDF dumbfounded.

What’s Next

Week 5 of the 2022 LCK Summer season continues on Friday, July 15 with two more matches featuring Fredit BRION taking on Nongshim RedForce and LSB going up against Hanwha Life Esports. Matches begin at 4 a.m ET live on LCK’s Twitch channel.