In probably the best game of 2022 in League of Legends, it was all or nothing: In the quarter-finals of the LoL Worlds on Saturday, October 22, two Korean superpowers faced off. The current champion from Korea, Gen G., played against the world champion from 2020, DWG KIA. And it was a feast for fans of esports. Fans rave about an ‘Instant Classic’ – a match that reminded them why they love esports.
This is Gen G. and these are their best players: Gen G. is the current champion from South Korea. For years, the team was strong but somewhat boring. Their golden era seemed long gone: In 2017, they became world champions with ‘midlaner’ Ambition as ‘Samsung Galaxy’ and denied Faker his 4th title, leaving him in tears: a legendary image to this day.
In recent years, however, Gen G. has been the team of Ruler (23), an experienced and strong ADC. The team wasn’t particularly spectacular, however: People in South Korea talked about T1 and DWG KIA, Gen G. was mostly secondary.
That changed in 2022, when Gen G. signed midlaner Chovy, a young player who is idolized by some. Chovy reunited with his old friends from Team Griffin and promptly became champion: the first time in his career.
Additionally, the former T1 jungler ‘Peanut’ (24) is currently experiencing his third spring at Gen G.
Showmaker – Playmaker: The best 1-2 combo in LoL
This is DWG KIA and these are their best players: The DWG KIA team became world champions in 2020 and reached the finals of the Worlds in 2021. The team features Showmaker (midlane) and Canyon (jungle), possibly the best 1-2 combo in League of Legends over the past 3 years.
Midlaner Showmaker is an extraordinary player, something like a modern Faker, delivering spectacular plays. The casters regularly freak out when he plays. The ‘Showmaker Playmaker’ has become a rallying cry.
His partner is jungler Canyon, who dominated the Worlds in 2020 with carry junglers. He once jokingly claimed he was just the ‘Graves Bot’, but Canyon has an incredible sense for the jungle and the right moment.
When Riot Games buffed Graves right before the Worlds, it was a gift for Canyon.
Before 2022, however, the two lost their brilliant supporter Beryl and the ADC switched, but Nuguri returned to the top lane.
Epic battle goes full 5 games – ‘Instant Classic’
Was the match as good as expected? Yes, it was as good as everyone thought. Maybe even a little better. Time and again, stars Chovy and Showmaker dug deep into their champion pool, proving they can play just about anything.
The two co-stars of their teams, jungler Canyon and ADC Ruler, also showed what they could do. Canyon played champions like Kayn, Wukong, or Viego. Ruler was on Miss Fortune, Lucian, and Jinx.
Gen G. managed to win the first two games:
- In match 1, Chovy went crazy on Ryze, getting 11-3-2 on the champion known for being terrible. Peanut on Maokai (1-1-13) and Lehends on Yuumi (0-0-13) formed a strong backbone for Gen G.
- In match 2, it was again Chovy, who impressed on Yone. Peanut strongly supported him with Sejuani. Supporter Lehends pushed the hated cat Yuumi for Gen G. to the limit and got 1-4-12.
At that point, it looked like this would be a series that Gen G. would clearly win, although DWG KIA was already close in match 2, which was much tighter than it appeared in the end.
Showmaker turns momentum – poised for reverse sweep
But Showmaker struck back in game 3 as ‘Swain’, going 3-0-9. Gen G. apparently had no answer for that.
In match 4, it was over after just 25 minutes, and DWG KIA could clearly win. Showmaker picked LeBlanc and played a flawless 3-0-4. Throughout the match, DWG KIA conceded only 2 deaths – now the reverse sweep was in the air: A humiliation for Gen G. was looming.
Here’s one of those goosebump moments from Showmaker:
Epic battle over 45 minutes in match 5 – Ruler wins
Who won in the end? In match 5, it was finally Ruler’s time: Gen G. proved to be the better team. With Lucian, Ruler achieved 6-1-6, and Chovy contributed as Viktor with 7-2-6.
A risky combo of Aphelios, Kayn, and Renekton ultimately didn’t pay off for DWG KIA.
In the end, the better team prevailed against perhaps the better individual players.
Well, Chovy may have just narrowly won the match against Showmaker. But Chovy knows: The true nemesis lurks elsewhere, on Twitch:
LoL: Twitch streamer defeats one of the best players in the world – Says pros are ‘all frauds’
Ruler scores a quadra kill in crucial match 5 after 44 minutes, putting Gen G. on the path to victory. At a high level, milliseconds determine victory and defeat:
How is the game being discussed? On reddit, people agree: It was an ‘Instant Classic’, one of the best LoL series of all time.
It went back and forth, a super match.
Some users say: This was a match that reminded them why they love League of Legends and esports so much.
Well, Chovy may have just narrowly won the match against Showmaker. But Chovy knows: The true nemesis lurks elsewhere, on Twitch:
LoL: Twitch streamer defeats one of the best players in the world – Says pros are ‘all frauds’
