There are troubles at League of Legends with 2 of the best teams in the world. The Chinese team FunPlus Phoenix is losing three of its best players, Tian, Doinb, and Nuguri, after the LoL Worlds 2021.
This is the situation at FunPlus Phoenix:
- FunPlus Phoenix are the world champions from 2019, who defeated all other teams with an outstanding combo of jungler and midlaner. In the final, they dominated the European hopeful G2 Esports. Additionally, they left them with a clear message on their way out.
- However, 2020 was a crisis year: The Chinese team could not qualify for the Worlds.
- In 2021, FPX was considered the favorite to win the Worlds 2021, but they were eliminated in the preliminary round. That really hurt.
Top laner needs a break from playing – Couldn’t cope in China
This is changing now at FunPlus Phoenix:
It started with rumors that top laner Nuguri would return to DWG KIA to replace Khan. That would have been ironic, as Nuguri had switched from world champion DWG KIA to FunPlus Phoenix in 2020 and replaced Khan there.
However, things took a turn when Nuguri had his manager announce that he does not want to play professionally in LoL in 2022. It was said that the South Korean Nuguri was “overseas” for the first time in 2021, meaning in China, and the stress had taken a toll on him mentally. The pressure was too much for him, and he wanted to take a break from esports (via inven).
Shortly thereafter, it became public that jungler Tian, the MVP of the LoL Worlds 2019, would be leaving the team. It is still unclear where he is going. Tian had been heavily criticized after the Worlds 2021 – he was considered one of the reasons why FPX performed so poorly.
Furthermore, even the face of the team, Doinb, will leave the 2019 world champion: The midlaner is heading to LNG Esports. He apparently wants to play alongside the world-class jungler Tarzan.
The situation of all 5 players at DWG KIA is uncertain
This is the situation at DWG KIA:
- DWG KIA has gone through a huge upswing. A few years ago, no one knew them; they made a splash at the LoL Worlds 2019, but were eliminated by G2 in the quarterfinals
- In 2020, they were unstoppable and marched to the world championship team. Jungler Canyon and midlaner Showmaker have been regarded as absolute exceptional talent and masters in League of Legends since that season.
- In 2021, they were similarly unstoppable, and it took a moderate miracle for them to lose 2-3 in the final and finish as runners-up.
What is changing at DWG KIA? We reported on MeinMMO as early as April 2021 that fans feared DWG KIA would be torn apart by offers from Chinese teams. After the LoL Worlds, it looks like the “super team” is actually falling apart.
As announced, top laner Khan will leave the team, as he must begin his military service in the South Korean army.
There has also been quite a drama in South Korea regarding the ADC “Ghost.” He apparently wanted to leave DWG KIA and had contacted another team. The “other” team is NS Redforce – but he accused the team of lying to him and wasting his time.
However, the CEO of NS Redforce stated that this was not the case; they had made an offer that was rejected (via inven). Apparently, there were misunderstandings between both teams and the player.
The status of the other 3 starters from DWG KIA is currently still unclear: Supporter Beryl, jungler Canyon, and the currently probably best player in the world, Showmaker, are officially free agents. However, DWG KIA has announced that they will offer them new contracts.
It seems that the three LoL stars are waiting to see how much money they are offered by teams from the Chinese league, LPL.
Currently, DWG KIA, the world champion of 2020, does not seem to have any players secured for 2022.
Even in Europe, the top teams in LoL are falling apart:
LoL: Permanent champions allegedly sell half of the team and German coach – With price tag
