In what was meant to be an epic bout in the Mid lane turned into a snooze fest as G2 locked in Seraphine.
DWG KIA got off to the perfect start at the 2022 League of Legends World Championship. The 2020 Champs took down a side that has plagued them in the past in G2 Esports. Damwon took care of G2 in convincing fashion and starts the group 1-0 heading into their heavyweight bout against LPL Champions JDG.
Following their match against G2 Esports, DK Mid laner ShowMaker spoke briefly to the press in a post-match scrum.
"A lot of EU teams like playing Seraphine, so in a way, it was very EU-like"
Caps and ShowMaker have given fans some incredible Mid-lane matches in the past and fans were eagerly awaiting to see these superstars go toe-to-toe once again. Sadly, what we got was Seraphine versus Azir. In the West, Seraphine is a champion held in high regard. The North American faithful even proclaim Seraphine as the "CEO of the LCS".
For G2 to lock in Seraphine was a huge surprise despite the champion being picked so frequently in the West. According to Gol.gg, this is the first time Caps has played Seraphine this year, making the pick more out of touch with how G2 likes to play.
DK ShowMaker was surprised with G2's decision to take Caps off of a champion that could take over the game and onto something more 'passive'.
I think a lot of EU teams like playing Seraphine, so in a way it was very EU-like. Regarding Caps’ performance, I got a bit surprised because I didn’t expect Caps to play something that’s more on the passive side like Seraphine.
Is Damwon the favorites in Group B after day one?
Although you should never truly alter predictions after one day of play, it wouldn't be the League of Legends World Championship without day-one overreactions. Despite their inconsistencies domestically this year, many did have Damwon to prevail from this group as the winners or at the very least push JDG. And with the LPL side being pushed heavily by NA's Evil Geniuses, everything is up for debate.
We always knew DWG KIA had a world-class top side that is more than capable of winning their second World Championship, the question was can their new bottom lane hang with the best? The meta seems to be falling nicely for the Damwon bottom lane. Deokdam and Kellin worked best in the 2021 meta that heavily relied on engage supports followed by strong fighters like Kai'Sa, Miss Fortune and Aphelios.
On day one of Worlds 2022, those champions featured heavily and this bodes well for the Damwon bottom lane. In game one against G2, DWG KIA's bottom lane performed well, picking Leona and Jhin to complement the rest of the team. Deokdam and Kellin went a combined 3/3/25 in their demolition of G2.
When asked about G2's strength given their international history, ShowMaker reiterated fans should not give up on G2 after one game. ShowMaker also made a brief comment on the strength of the Eastern teams and the Western teams.
G2 is still a really strong team, so it’s really a bit too early to give up on them until you watch their next game. In my opinion Western teams are indeed a bit easier to play against compared to Asian teams.
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