In the LoL Worlds 2021, the Mad Lions faced DWG Kia on Sunday in the quarterfinals. The Koreans are considered the best team in the world in League of Legends. MAD Lions were the last hope of Europe.
This is the situation:
- The MAD Lions are the current champions in Europe, but they had a tough time at the LoL Worlds and barely made it to the quarterfinals. As group second, they had to face a group first. They were the only team from Europe still in the tournament.
- DWG Kia are the current champions in Korea and the 2020 world champions. The team around Midlaner Showmaker won all 6 games in the group stage.
- The chances for MAD Lions were seen before the game as “hopeless” to “they need a miracle.”
“Canyon Gap”
This is how the games went: Anyone who still hoped before the match that the MAD Lions could create a miracle quickly found themselves in harsh reality: It was a 0-3 defeat for the Europeans.
Normally, when playing against DWG Kia, one expects that Midlaner Showmaker will decide the matches. He is considered an exceptional player. However, Showmaker had a – for his standards – rather “quiet” series and primarily picked up assists: In the end, he had stats of 13-9-33.
The problem this time was that his partner, the jungler Canyon, also reached operating temperature. MAD Lions allowed him “Lee Sin” three times, and Canyon, the MVP of the 2020 finals, felt far too comfortable on the Blind Monk. He secured 14 kills, 31 assists, and only died 4 times.
Additionally, top-laner Khan delivered an excellent performance in his last World Cup. The Korean switched to DWG Kia before the season and must complete his military service after the season.
In his “last World Cup”, he had a brilliant moment as the Blitzcrank Kennen. Match 2 was the only match where MAD Lions appeared to be on par with DWG Kia. Here, Kennen made the difference:
Top-laner Khan has switched twice to the current world champion
What’s up with Khan? Kim “Khan” Dong-ha (25) is considered one of the best top-laners in the world. But his involuntary career-ending due to conscription is looming. He apparently wants to win another title at all costs and has already switched from his current team to the respective world champion twice:
- In 2019, Khan switched from T1 to FunPlus Phoenix – who did not qualify for the Worlds in 2020
- In 2020, Khan switched from FunPlus Phoenix to DWG KIA – this time the switch seems to pay off
Khan is the only one in DWG Kia who has not yet won a world championship title. This could change soon.
This is how the game is perceived: On reddit, there is verbal admiration for the performance of DWG Kia. The support player Beryl is highlighted, who rarely shines among all the stars of DWG Kia, but is also an exceptional player. He has played 8 champs in 9 games and consistently delivered his performance.
On reddit, it is believed that the match demonstrated the state of the top lane in Europe: MAD Lions might have “Armut” as the best European top-laner, but he died 15 times in 3 matches. There are apparently problems in the top lane across all of Europe.
However, the real difference-maker in these matches was jungler Canyon. It is astonishing: he is not only ridiculously good but also absurdly consistent in his performances. The victory of DWG Kia is summarized by some as “Canyon Gap”, which makes the difference.
Will DWG KIA achieve a “perfect” Worlds?
This is what happens next: In the semifinals, DWG Kia will face T1. The clash of the Korean top teams is seen as an advanced final. There, the legendary Faker meets his worthy successor in the mid lane, Showmaker.
It is believed that whoever wins this will then crush Gen G in the final. Although Gen G still has to qualify for the final. They first have to get past Cloud 9 and then deal with EDward Gaming (China).
Currently, the probability is high that DWG Kia will also secure the LoL Worlds in 2021. They simply have too much firepower. After going 9-0, a “perfect LoL Worlds” is even still possible: this is what it is called when one wins the Worlds without losing a single game.
However, the Worlds had a somewhat strange start for DWG Kia:
LoL bans one of the best players in the world, imposes a fine of €218 on him
