On Sunday, October 23rd, there was a quarter-final of the highest class at the Worlds 2022 in League of Legends. Team DRX actually had hardly any chance against the world champion EDward Gaming. In the game, everything initially went against the Koreans: DRX was already 0-2 down and seemed destined for the flight back home. But then luck turned. For the 26-year-old ADC of the team, “Deft”, it was a very special moment. Because the people he was up against were his teammates 10 years ago.
Who was playing?
- DRX (South Korea) had a strong team in 2020 because they brought in star player Chovy and the brilliant coach cvMax. However, DRX fell apart after 2020 and did not play a role in 2021. In 2022, DRX acquired the supporter from DWG KIA, Beryl, and former ADC Deft, but only just managed to scrape by in 6th place in Korea and was considered among the 8 Asian teams as “the weakest team.” They had to go through the Play-Ins.
- They faced the Chinese team EDward Gaming, which had surprisingly become world champions in 2021. In 2022, EDG had already eliminated Fnatic in their group but fell short against T1 twice. EDward Gaming has a star player in the bot-laner Viper, and otherwise, EDG is staffed with first-class players like Scout (mid-lane) or Meiko (support).
In the “Best-of-5” series, it was about qualifying for the semi-finals against Gen G. – the loser would fly home.
How did the match go? The match played out as expected in the first two games. EDward Gaming was superior to the Koreans:
- In match 1, mid-laner Scout played outstandingly on Azir with 9-1-6
- In match 2, top-laner Flandre was strong with 5-0-2 on Jax and Viper on Aphelios with 8-2-4. Match 2 was something special.
One hit from victory, DRX loses everything
When did it seem like DRX was just cursed? It was thought the series was practically over after match 2, as the end of match 2 was brutal:
The DRX team found themselves at a disadvantage in the end game and knew that they would lose the match in the next teamfight: Therefore, they risked everything and launched a “backdoor” attack, directly attacking the opponent’s base without looking for a fight.
And it seemed that the surprise attack would succeed.
The ADC of DRX, Deft, was on the verge of destroying the opponents’ Nexus, who were busy with Baron, but at the last second, the inhibitor of EDG respawned, the Nexus became immune, and the returning players of EDG finished off Deft, leading to the loss of the match.
It was heartbreaking because DRX was only milliseconds away from victory.
At that moment, one thought: Deft and DRX would not recover from this bitter defeat.
This must be a scene for every LoL player where you can feel the pain of the attackers:
First an absolute blow, then the reverse sweep
This is how it turned out: But the turnaround came in match 3: In a 42-minute battle, DRX was able to win. ADC Deft overcame the psychological blow and played strongly on Draven with 5-1-2.
This turned the momentum, and DRX accomplished the reverse sweep: That’s what it’s called when a team wins 3-2 after being down 0-2.
Zeka finds God mode on Sylas
Who played the decisive role? The mid-laner of DRX, Zeka, had a stellar day in game 5 with Sylas, playing 10-2-4. On reddit people speak of a God mode that he reached.
Also outstanding was supporter Beryl with champions like Ashe or Karma: The supporter has always been a beast but was overshadowed by the star-studded DWG KIA against Showmaker and Canyon.
Emotions run high after the match
The touching scene after the game: In an interview after the match, the 26-year-old ADC of DRX, Deft, was seen nearly breaking down on stage.
Deft has been playing LoL professionally for 10 years. But only now could he make it to the semi-finals of the LoL Worlds for the first time in his career. For him, it was a special match, as Deft played in 2015 and 2016 alongside Scout and Meiko at EDG and made a name for himself back then.
He was also part of the DRX team that fell in the quarter-finals at the Worlds in 2020, which then fell apart, while Scout and Meiko became world champions in 2021.
Additionally, he was also celebrating his birthday for the match on Sunday – and not many LoL players reach the peak of their careers at the age of 26.
This can happen – in 2020, jungler Pyosik was completely broken when everyone left DRX. Pyosik was also the jungler for DRX this time
LoL pro tells sadly how one of the best teams in the world fell apart
