In League of Legends there has been an “over” team in recent years: DWG KIA, previously known as Damwon Gaming. The South Koreans won the World Championship in 2020 and reached the finals of the LoL Worlds in 2021. Now only the core remains of DWG KIA: Midlaner Showmaker and Jungler Canyon. The rest are leaving and will be replaced by players who have not yet made a big name for themselves.
What is special about DWG KIA?
- The South Koreans were undoubtedly the dominant team in League of Legends over the last 2 years: They were the benchmark against which all other teams had to measure themselves. After they paid tuition in 2019 and crumbled under the pressure of a live audience, they became almost unstoppable from 2020 onwards.
- Midlaner Showmaker is considered the best player in the world – his Jungler Canyon as a dominant force. Together with Support Beryl and ADC Ghost, they had a strong bot lane. On the top lane, Nuguri and Khan played strong roles in 2019 and 2020.
- In 2022, only the core duo Showmaker and Canyon remain from the 5 players. The other players are leaving DWG KIA.
Where are the 3 players going? The top laner Khan will not be playing professional LoL in 2022. The South Korean must undertake his mandatory military service. Because of conscription in South Korea, many professional careers end in their mid-20s. A South Korean politician suggested to spare Faker from military service and treat him like an Olympian or a great artist.
The ADC Ghost (22) is after much drama finally going to NS RedForce. There was some excitement and misunderstandings beforehand.
Surprisingly, however, the supporter BeryL (24) is leaving. His contract expired – just like those of Canyon and Showmaker. But he will not be playing for DWG KIA in 2022. Where he is going is still unclear.
Who is coming in new? According to rumors, DWG KIA tried to convince Nuguri to come back as a top laner. But that will not happen. The top laner Burdol (17), who played for Gen G last year but was not in the starting lineup, is coming in. They made it to the semifinals of the world. So it is rather a junior solution.
Ghost, who is switching to Nongshim Redforce, will be replaced as ADC by “deokdam”: He comes from Nongshim Redforce. The two ADCs are practically swapping positions. Dekdam is 21 years old, one year younger than Ghost, but has not yet played for any “big team”.
As a supporter, “Kellin”, a 20-year-old who also came from NS RedForce, is being signed.
Was there no money left for other players besides the 2 top stars?
This is what it’s all about: It will be interesting to see how DWG KIA performs and whether they will reach the level they had over the last 2 years by the end of 2022.
Surely the pressure on Showmaker and Canyon to deliver and “carry” the team through the changes will be even higher. They haven’t brought in any “big names”.
It can be assumed that Showmaker and Canyon have received huge salary increases to prevent a star transfer to China. Perhaps under the circumstances, there was not much money left for the other 3 positions.
For some time, there has been concern that China would simply buy the stars from the team. That hasn’t happened – but the team is now falling apart:
LoL has a real over-team again – but fans fear the sellout to China
