Recently, the League of Legends community in general and LCK fans, especially DWG KIA supporters, have had a reason to celebrate as Korean media confirmed that Nuguri will return to his “old home” in Summer 2022. If this deal becomes a reality, it would be a valuable addition for both DK and the Korean League of Legends scene. For many years since the tournament was first held, LCK has never faced a shortage of talented top laners like it does now. Even names that were once very high quality like Doran or Rascal have somewhat lost their form in the recently concluded Spring 2022 season.
In the recent LCK Spring 2022, DK officially became the former champion after losing 2-3 to the runner-up Gen.G Esports in the second match of the playoffs. Notably, game 5 can be seen as a very bitter defeat for DK as they were ahead in kills, towers, and gold for most of the match. With such a huge lead, if it were DK from the past, the opponents would surely have to concede defeat. But this time, ShowMaker and his teammates collapsed as Gen.G made a comeback.
With Nuguri’s return, DK will have back the top lane that once led them to victory at Worlds 2020 after defeating Suning with SofM. But at this point, can Nuguri alone solve all of DK’s issues?
Hoya/Burdol are merely the smallest issues
It is clear that one main issue for DK this season, like many other teams in LCK, is the lack of a quality top laner. In previous seasons, DK had Nuguri – a young player who proved his talent in creating breakthroughs and turning the match around. When Nuguri left, DK brought in Khan from FunPlus Phoenix. Khan, on the other hand, is a name with extensive experience and skill.
And after Khan also departed, neither Burdol nor Hoya had the capability to replace him. Both of these players have never been considered top quality. Burdol was once a trainee at T1 and became famous for his godly Akali. But without his signature champions, Burdol struggles to support the team. Remember the time when Burdol or Rascal were at Worlds 2021, Gen.G faced many difficulties in their matches against Team Liquid and LNG Esports.
As for Hoya, the former Griffin star has never been an outstanding player. In fact, Hoya’s career has been quite tumultuous as he changed teams three times in just over two years. However, during this time, GRF when Hoya was there was no longer called the “Super Rookie” team. Meanwhile, Fredit BRION is just a mid-tier team in LCK.
But the truth is that Hoya and Burdol are essentially just temporary solutions for DK when they do not have the desired players. And upon deeper analysis, these two names are merely the smallest and most obvious issues in DK during the Spring 2022 season.
The Championship Spirit and the Concern Named ShowMaker
However, the bigger concerns for DK may be the issues that Nuguri alone cannot resolve. This includes ShowMaker’s form and the championship mentality. As mentioned above, DK suffered a bitter defeat due to Gen.G’s comeback from a 10k gold deficit in game 5, something they never allowed to happen during their dominant reign. Even against T1, who had reclaimed their form at Worlds 2021, DK did not give Faker and his teammates a chance to make a comeback like that. This indicates that DK has changed its lineup and also lost its championship mentality.
This Spring, DK has been overturned at least two times and both in major matches. In the first round against T1, in game 3, Canyon’s miraculous plays helped DK take a significant lead, even pushing to T1’s fourth tower. However, in the end, just one hasty play led to DK’s overall defeat. They no longer possess the calmness and coolness to finish off opponents as they did before.
And next, there is a clear issue: ShowMaker’s declining form. It’s hard to blame the roster change since the name linked with the mid laner born in 2000, Canyon, is still there and performing very well. However, ShowMaker has shown a disadvantage compared to two other names, one being elder Faker and the other being Chovy. ShowMaker not only fails to win lane against Chovy but also has less impact on the game. Among the four mid laners who participated in Worlds 2021, ShowMaker only slightly outperformed Bdd, who has also declined along with the entire Nongshim RedForce team.
In the past, when DK played around the top lane, ShowMaker and Nuguri/Khan were the main damage dealers. This Spring, the meta has changed, but ShowMaker is still allocated many resources. The only issue is that he is no longer himself as the invisible pressure from the failure at Worlds 2021, the need to maintain the throne in the new LCK season, and the roster changes have significantly impacted ShowMaker’s performance and mentality.
And for these two main issues, Nuguri alone may still not be enough. The other players in DK and ShowMaker himself need to improve during the time leading up to the Summer 2022 season. If the problems remain the same, then Nuguri, if he regains his previous form, may only become another player sharing the title of “golden spine” with Canyon.