The featured grudge match of the tournament promised heart-stopping moments that we had come to expect, and it did not fail to deliver. Following the banger match of Cloud9 vs Fnatic, was the Titan of the EU G2 Esports vs Worlds 2020 winner Damwon Gaming Kia.
Damwon Gaming Kia vs. G2 esports was featured grudge match of the tournament that delivered on the promise heart-stopping moments that we had come to expect. Following the banger match of Cloud9 vs. Fnatic, was the titanic clash of the EU's G2 Esports vs Worlds 2020 winner Damwon Gaming Kia. This matchup had a lot at stake, as both teams wanted to start their Worlds 2022 run right. The winner hear would take the lead in the head to head (4-4), so there was a lot of motivation for the two teams.
"We were always the one losing to G2 so we turned the table around, we always have to prepare as hard as we can."
Damwon Gaming Kia was ready to show the strength of the LCK
For both teams, it was all on the line. Both Damwon Gaming Kia and G2 Esports were ready to prove they were still at the level of their former glory . For the previous Worlds champion, DWG KIA, there was a lot at stake. Worlds 2022 marked two years since the team won their first Worlds title—Having won against the LPL representative Suning in a clean 3-1. However, the squad would lose out on back to back Worlds victories to EDG in a tight 2-3 series.
G2 Esports also had a lot to prove at Worlds 2022; having attended their first international tournament this year (MSI 2022) since Worlds 2020. The EU powerhouse had missed both MSI and Worlds 2021 when a powerful starting roster of the MAD Lions had claimed the 2021 season for themselves. Now with the MAD Lions out of contention, and G2 back on top of Europe, it is expected that they will be back to challenging the LCK and LPL teams.
It was a match to remember for both teams, as DWG KIA put on a clinic to open up their Worlds run, ace-ing the European team at just eight minutes—Kicking off a 3k gold lead that the Korean third seed only widened the longer the match went on. The Korean representative picked Canyon’s iconic Graves (a throwback to Worlds 2020 which was a pick that helped secure so many wins for the team), as well as Nuguri’s Camille while G2 secured the classic Orn top and caPs’ Seraphine.
Damwon crush G2 on their journey through Worlds groups
The grudge rematch went beyond expectatons, as DWG KIA pushed forward, extending their win on the head to head to 5-4 against G2. The game went longer than the previous fastest match between the two teams (just 19 minutes). Instead went on for 32 minutes, but those were 32 minutes of pure perfection. G2 did their best to pick up as many counter kills as possible, picking off solo-laners where possible, but DWG KIA took every opportunity to put the EU team behind and were successful in doing so.
Taking multiple towers without the use of the Herald and securing the Drake soul for themselves, as well as two drakes. This from a team who typically did not actively pursue Barons. This led to DWG KIA creating a 7k gold lead before the 20-minute mark but they didn’t secure the nexus at 20min—to the relief of EU fans.
For DWG KIA this win kicks off their Worlds season in the best way possible, securing their first win, keeping one step ahead of their rivalry with G2 and proving that the LCK third seed (who qualified to Worlds after being knocked down by T1) will not be a pushover and are here to prove that two years on, that title will be there’s once more. While for G2, their arguably second hardest opponent in Worlds 2022 has now been faced, and now they face LCS Evil Geniuses and LPL JDG Intel Esports Club.
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