This article is sponsored by DJ Esports.
DWG KIA had their fair share of ups and downs this season, but somehow, the team has found its way back to the World Championship as the LCK’s top seed.
After a roster change in the middle of the summer—one that placed legendary mid laner ShowMaker at the AD Carry position and the team’s starting AD Carry Ghost on the bench—the team struggled to find its identity in the season’s second half. Still, they were able to catch fire in the back-end of the year, winning their third consecutive LCK title.
On Monday, Oct. 11, DWG KIA will begin their Worlds group stage run against 2019 world champions FunPlus Phoenix.
In a clash between the two best mid laners in the world, FPX and DWG KIA should be poised to deliver an electric game. While FPX mid laner Doinb is off-the-wall aggressive, ShowMaker likes to keep things more laid-back and methodical. Still, both players are deadly.
DJ Esports’ analytics point towards a fast-paced early-game approach for FPX, so expect the team to come out swinging and make a strong play for First Blood and an early lead.
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This doesn’t mean that DK has no recourse. Showmaker tends to focus on late-game champions, meaning that Doinb and FPX will have to push the knife early and often if they want to keep DWG KIA on the back foot.
Expect FPX to take an early kill lead, but that will be evened out as DK tends to perform very well in the mid and late game. As long as DK can hold off against an early onslaught, then they are more than capable of keeping the kill count within 3.5 to beat the spread.
FPX likes to play fast and loose. They consistently bank on getting an early lead and ride it to the end of the game. DJ Esports tracks their average game time at a lightning-fast 29m 40s, the shortest average game time in their home region of the LPL. As they have been playing stronger teams throughout the playoffs, however, their average time has risen drastically.
In their last four games against EDG, their average game time was above 35 minutes. FPX will have to play cautiously against a team as strong as DK, so their game time might continue to rise at Worlds as the caliber of their opponents increases.
DWG KIA cannot be counted out in this matchup, though. They’re the second-ranked team in the world for a reason, and FPX may struggle to secure an early lead. Additionally, DWG KIA is skilled at teamfights and likes to drag the game out and wait for their moment. With some of the recent patch changes for Worlds to early-game heroes like Renekton and Varus, FPX may be a bit slower out of the gate than we’re all used to.
It can be seen from DJ Esports’ statistics that DWG KIA excel at taking the first Baron; in their last 25 games, DWG KIA’s first Baron rate has reached 91 percent. In traditional LCK fashion, they like to drag the game into the late stage and then fully commit to teamfights to turn the tide and claim the Baron.
On the flip side, FPX’s first Baron rate is 78 percent. They are more likely to try to rush the Baron as soon as it appears at the 20-minute mark. If this strategy works, they’ll expand their gold lead and use the Baron buff to strike hard and fast, likely pushing into DWG KIA’s base. If DK can prevent them from taking an early lead, though, FPX may not be powerful enough to rush the Baron so quickly.
Once the game enters the late stage, DWG KIA will start to be able to turn the tide and play to their strengths. As long as DWG KIA can successfully drag the game out, they are more likely to get the first Baron. The odds for DWG KIA here are 2.009, slightly higher than the 1.777 of FPX.
FPX won the 2019 World Championship and DWG KIA won last season, in 2020. These two former champions are poised for an excellent performance this year, with a meeting in the grand finals potentially in the cards. With an MVP jungler on each side and some of the best all-around line-ups we’ve seen to date, it’s anyone’s guess as to who will come out on top in this battle of titans.
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For more insight on the 2021 LoL World Championship and up-to-the-minute updated data and odds for all of the competing teams, you can view them on DJ Esports.
