From Underdogs to Champions, DRX defeat T1 3-2 to win Worlds 2022
DRX barely qualified for the League of Legends 2022 World Championships. Now, they go home as champions and Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu, DRX bot laner, finally lifted the Summoner’s Cup 10 years into his career. This was also a redemption story for head coach Kim “Ssong” Sang-soo, who came back to coach DRX in 2020 after an unsuccessful three-year stay in the LCS.
As the fourth seed from the LCK region, DRX had to go through the Play-In Stage, and while they were undefeated in their Play-In group, it was a long trek to the Summoner’s Cup. In the Group Stage, they tied with Rogue to get out of Group C. Rogue was the only Western team to make it out of this stage, the rest were all from the East. All four LCK teams qualified for the Knockout Stage, while three from China’s LPL completed the list.
In the Quarterfinals, DRX’s chances were already looking grim as they were matched against the defending World Champions EDward Gaming. 0-2 down, the underdogs mounted a reverse sweep, denying EDG a chance to defend their title. The next team that stood in their way was LCK’s very own Summer Champion Gen.G. DRX also conquered this hurdle, with a little help from jungler Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon’s old friend Kindred.
In the finals against T1, DRX were once again not the favored team. What fans thought would be an easy win for the team led by League’s greatest player of all time (and Deft’s high school classmate) Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, ended up being one for the history books. DRX showed immense mental resilience, even after T1’s bot laner Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong stole Baron Nashor and Drake with Varus’ arrow several times. Despite this, Pyosik remained tilt-free. In the post-match conference, he credits his teammates for his mental composure, saying that they “kept him grounded.”
GUMA DOES IT AGAIN! #WORLDS2022 pic.twitter.com/XYf5Erq5r3
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) November 6, 2022
Five games and many hours later, DRX closed the series after a decisive fight over the Elder Dragon.
THE FINAL MOMENTS OF A LEGENDARY #WORLDS2022 FINAL. pic.twitter.com/Nz74JY6c8F
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) November 6, 2022
It was a bittersweet moment for LCK fans, as heartbreak spread across the runners-up but finally got to see one of the scene’s most prominent veterans in Deft finally crowned.
Former teammates. 💔 pic.twitter.com/PmcPU4VrRF
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) November 6, 2022
A sweet moment was shared between T1 support Ryu “Keria” Min-seok and his former teammates in Pyosik and Deft.
Outside of China, the Grand Final earned a viewership of over 5.1 million, making it the highest viewed match in League of Legends history. For comparison, the next highest viewed match this Worlds was the Semis match between T1 and JDG, which clocked in at about 2.2 million.
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