In the match on January 19th as part of the LCK Spring 2022, Nongshim RedForce achieved a convincing victory over the defending LCK 2021 champion – DWG KIA. This is seen as a match between two teams with significant roster changes during the recent offseason transfer window. Furthermore, it was also a match where Ghost – DK’s ADC reunited with his former team and he did not disappoint NS fans.
Throughout all 3 games, NS did not allow DK to dominate or impose their gameplay like the 2021 World Championship runner-up usually does against weaker opponents. In fact, during the game 2 loss, NS was defeated simply because Canyon and deokdam played exceptionally well while Burdol had a timely “awakening” in crucial moments of the match. Overall, NS nearly choked DK from the laning phase all the way to the major and minor skirmishes, contesting major objectives.
After the match, the entire DK team, especially the two rookies in the top lane – Hoya and Burdol, became targets of criticism from the League of Legends community. The entire DK team, perhaps excluding the bot duo, underperformed, but Hoya and Burdol were the two most blameworthy names. In game 2, Burdol was continuously taken down and if it weren’t for Canyon and deokdam correcting his mistakes in time, the match would likely not have gone to game 3.
After this convincing victory against DK, the NS players were likened to the “Avengers” and this was their first match on the “revenge” journey, as each following week they will have at least one match where the players face their former teams. NS’s jungler Dread was praised for making Canyon “disappear” in the decisive game 3. Other players like Peter, Canna, or Bdd, Ghost also had a good day and contributed significantly to NS’s victory over a tough opponent like DK.
However, there are also opinions suggesting that NS’s mid-game phase was not truly perfect. They held many advantages from the laning phase but did not completely dominate after that, allowing DK several opportunities to turn the game around, notably in game 2.
With this victory, NS climbed to the 3rd position, behind Gen.G Esports and T1. As for DK, they dropped to 7th place. Additionally, the defending LCK 2021 champions have revealed numerous issues, not only with Hoya and Burdol but also in other positions like ShowMaker and Canyon. The journey to defend their domestic championship is tougher than ever for DK, especially if they continue to perform as they have in the first 3 matches of this year’s LCK Spring season.