After four wins from four games in the Worlds 2021 group stage, DWG KIA have qualified for the quarterfinals as the first seed from Group A, with Cloud9 qualifying as the second seed behind them after beating Rogue in a tiebreaker match Friday.
The LCK champions cemented their qualification with a dominant win over China’s FunPlus Phoenix. Although the series was much closer than the last one, DK took control of the mid-game and gave no room for an FPX comeback. While FPX tried to force their way in with Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang’s Irelia, the Poppy and Twisted Fate combination from DK proved too powerful.
Cloud9’s road to quarters was more difficult. To control their destiny, they needed to clean sweep the day and hope for some miracles from Rogue and FPX as well. To the surprise of North America’s hopefuls, they pulled off the unthinkable.
With their wins on the day, DK guarantee a spot at Worlds 2021 quarterfinals with Cloud9.
WELCOME TO QUARTERFINALS @DWGKIA! #Worlds2021 pic.twitter.com/lyrBgeGMSu
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) October 15, 2021
DWG KIA at Worlds 2021 so far
DK came into Worlds as one of the tournament favorites with many predicting either them or FPX to lead Group A. However, their two wins over FPX leaves them as clear-cut favorites to finish first in their group. So far, DK have had more one-sided games than most teams at Worlds 2021. Although they were somewhat shaky against C9, they quickly turned that match around.
DK’s map read and macro plays are among the best seen at Worlds 2021 so far. Even though they do not have a proactive bot lane, the 2020 world champions make up for this with their aggressive top, mid lane and jungle.
Since the start of the Worlds 2021 group stage, DK’s Heo “Showmaker” Su is yet to be killed. He finished the game against FPX with a 3/0/9 Kill/Death/Assist ratio on the Twisted Fate.
The Korean mid laner is deathless after four games of the group stage with a 17/0/30 KDA. With just two games left to play, Showmaker could finish the group stage deathless. Wonder if that has anything to do with SUNMI’s latest song?
Cloud9 on the come up
Cloud9 had a rough start to the Group Stage, going 0-3 in the first week. After having time to prep, they showed up huge in the second round-robin defied the odds to qualify for North America’s first top-eight finish at Worlds since 2018.
Philippe “Vulcan” Laflamme and Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami have been key players for Cloud9 during the Group Stage, despite having middling stat lines.
DK and Cloud9 will now turn their attention towards the knockout stage at Worlds 2021. Quarterfinals kick off on Oct. 22 at approximately 8 a.m. ET.
–Nick Ray and Rashidat Jimoh contributed to this report
