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Though the 2022 League of Legends World Championship takes place in North America this year, the teams representing the region continue to be unable to indulge in the “home turf buff.”
The LCK’s third seed and former world champions DWG KIA overwhelmed Evil Geniuses in their bout during the final day of the group stage’s first round robin. Though EG had the initiation to afford them a healthy start, they lacked an exceptional amount of damage that DWG KIA had no problem introducing them to.
This win brings DWG KIA to second place in their group, while the LCS has endured their eighth-straight loss with little hope for redemption remaining.
The force of a charging horse
Much of the struggles each of the LCS teams at Worlds have endured stemmed from miscommunication in the early game. Whether it be getting caught attempting to get a specific lane ahead, or being unable to match the tempo of the enemy team, early-game snowballs have become the kryptonite setting the LCS further and further behind.
Yet EG sought to rewrite that story today. As Hecarim, Inspired made it his primary focus to match Canyon’s attention to the top lane, even staying around Impact to ensure that, if Canyon did come back, he would be met with force again.
With two quick kills onto Nuguri under his belt, Hecarim pranced up and down the Rift—always keeping an eye on his top-side camps and objectives.
While Inspired did amass a considerable lead, this clear attention to the top lane left the EG bot lane—complete with a Bard for Vulcan—susceptible to ganks and dives from all angles.
Each time Inspired tried to answer, he was simply whisked away by a Handshake from Kellin’s Renata Glasc, all the while deokdam prospered with more and more items in his arsenal.
Though EG had the initiation, they lacked the follow-up. Since EG had drafted nearly all melee champions, DWG KIA freely chipped away at the health of the opposing carries, either forcing them to step away entirely or jump in with the little health they had remaining. With only Kaori as their source of ranged damage, the possibility of EG winning quickly faded.
An increased reliance on fate
The gold between the two teams remained relatively even throughout most of the game, though one major factor pointed heavily in the favor of DWG KIA: objective control. With three drakes in their possession, the LCK representatives had a myriad of passive bonuses in their possession that were instrumental to their team-fighting power.
If EG wanted to break into DWG KIA’s front line, they’d have to survive a barrage of long-range attacks from Nuguri, Showmaker, and deokdam. Since not even Inspired’s fed Hecarim could run into the opposition safely, EG became reliant almost entirely on ultimates from Vulcan’s Bard—a champion he’d only played three other times this year.
DWG KIA read this initiation tactic from EG perfectly nearly every time. Instead of grouping at objectives, the individual players scattered about to avoid being trapped in the Tempered Fate, leaving the LCS representatives with little to no room to engage on their opponents.
The LCS continues to fall beneath expectations, having accrued the region’s eighth-straight loss as of this match. While none of the LCS teams have since been eliminated from Worlds, forcing tiebreakers in the second round robin is the only way that a few of them maintain a chance of moving on in the tournament.
Both DWG KIA and EG will compete in the entirety of their second round robin on Friday, which includes fellow League group mates G2 Esports and JDG.
