DWG KIA kick off 2022 LCK Spring Split with victory over KT Rolster

Former world champions DAMWON KIA started the League of Legends season with a statement earlier today by defeating KT Rolster 2-0 in the 2022 LCK Spring Split.

DWG KIA have been the subject of much curiosity following their second-place finish at Worlds 2021 and several offseason roster changes. But in their first series of the 2022 LCK Spring Split, they showed that they could be a force to be reckoned with once again.

DWG KIA’s players exhibited clean execution of their strategies and successfully set the pace, even though it was different in both games. While the first game was slow, with DK solely focusing on objectives and late-game teamfights, they accelerated things in the second one with relentless ganks in the bot lane and skirmishes around the map to snowball their way to victory.

In the first game, DK mid laner ShowMaker used his ultimate on Orianna for the first time at the 38-minute mark. But this proved to be the key to winning the teamfight and gaining a massive advantage over KT, earning DK both the drake and Baron before committing to a final push to the Nexus.

Although DK has several star players like ShowMaker and jungler Canyon, the promising bot laner deokdam, who joined the roster during the offseason, stole the show in the second game on Aphelios. The team built their composition around him and gave him space to decimate their opponents in mid-game fights, a role he executed well.

KT also showed flashes of greatness in this series, although the second game was mostly one-sided in favor of DK. Top laner Rascal, in particular, displayed great mechanical skills on Akali in the first game by earning two solo kills over DK top laner Hoya and securing a Baron steal.

Many fights were balanced between both teams and could have gone either way, but DK ultimately gained the edge due to clean coordination and anticipation of KT’s actions.

This series saw the debut of Vex in the LCK when KT mid laner Aria picked her, although she’s already been played several times in the LPL and ERL leagues. Aria produced a 4/3/3 scoreline on the champion in KT’s loss.

KT (0-1) will have a chance to prove themselves in their next series against Kwangdong Freecs on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 4am CT. DK (1-0) will face off against Gen.G on Sunday, Jan. 16 at 4am CT.