The DAMWON Dynasty falls apart right before its inception. While many League of Legends fans and viewers predicted a 3-0 or 3-1 DWG KIA victory over EDG, the LPL favorites pulled off a dramatic upset over the number one seed for the 2021 WCS. Following the incredible streak of performances from LPL teams at Worlds that started in 2018, DAMWON Gaming’s championship victory last year gave fans the impression that the LCK would once again dominate in this year’s tournament.
DWG KIA’s record indicated similar omens. With an impressive 12W-6L regular season record, DWG KIA stands at the top of the LCK this season. This record, combined with their 6W-1L match record in the LCK playoffs, victory in the 2020 WCS, flawless group stage, flawless quarterfinals, and semifinals victory over T1 left many fans and analysts with the impression that they could not be beaten. It turns out EDG had other plans.
Match Overview/Breakdown
With DWG KIA having dominated every stage of this year’s WCS, EDG was not expected to take a single match. It shocked the entire community when they dominated the first match.
Match 1 (EDG Victory)
- (7:25) EDG Scout claims First Blood on DWG Beryl in a four-man gank under DWG’s bot tower.
- (8:27) DWG Showmaker kills EDG Jiejie after he jumps blindly into Baron put to fight Rift Herald.
- (13:12) DWG Beryl kills EDG Scout after diving him under tower with DWG Showmaker
- (15:31) Team fight over Rift Herald yields EDG Herald and three kills on DWG Canyon, DWG Beryl, and DWG Khan.
- (26:01) Team fight over Baron yields EDG two kills (DWG Khan and DWG Ghost) and DWG two kills (EDG Viper and EDG Meiko).
- (30:25) EDG flawlessly kills all of DWG in a team fight over Baron.
- (35:30) EDG flawlessly kill all of DWG in team fight and destroy Nexus
- (35:39) EDG Win Match 1
- Final Kill Tally: DWG 4 – 16 EDG
Match 2 (DWG KIA Victory)
- (12:36) DWG Showmaker kills EDG Scout under Mid turret with DWG Canyon gank.
- (14:43) Team fight breaks out over Rift Herald. DWG picks up two kills (EDG Flandre and EDG Meiko). EDG Viper kills DWG Beryl.
- (16:56) Team fight breaks out over second Drake. DWG picks up 4 kills (EDG Flandre, EDG Jiejie, EDG Scout, and EDG Viper). EDG Viper kills DWG Canyon.
- (22:08) Team fight breaks out over third drake. DWG picks up two kills (EDG Scout and EDG Meiko).
- (23:02) Team fight breaks out over Baron. EDG steals Baron. DWG picks up two kills (EDG Jiejie and EDG Flandre).
- (27:58) Team fight breaks out over fourth Drake. EDG Viper kills DWG Showmaker. DWG picks up three kills (EDG Scout, EDG Jiejie, and EDG Flandre).
- (30:36) Team fight breaks out over Baron, DWG picks up three kills (EDG Flandre, EDG Viper, EDG Jiejie).
- (31:58) Team fight breaks out under tier 3 bot side turret. DWG flawlessly kills all of EDG.
- (32:18) DWG destroys EDG Nexus. DWG Win Match 2.
- Final Kill Tally: DWG 22 – 3 EDG
Match 3 (DWG KIA Victory)
- (10:49) EDG Scout claims First Blood on DWG Khan in a three-man gank in the middle of bot lane.
- (12:53) Fight breaks out in the top lane. DWG Canyon kills EDG Flandre. DWG Showmaker kills EDG Scout. EDG Jiejie kills DWG Khan.
- (15:45) EDG Flandre kills DWG Khan in a three-man gank in the alcove of top lane.
- (16:35) Team fight breaks out over Rift Herald. EDG Meiko kills DWG Beryl.
- (17:24) DWG Khan kills EDG Flandre with the help of DWG Beryl.
- (22:31) Team fight breaks out over third Drake. DWG Showmaker kills EDG Jiejie. EDG Viper kills DWG Showmaker.
- (28:02) Team fight breaks out over fourth Drake. DWG finds four kills (EDG Flandre, EDG Jiejie, EDG Scout, and EDG Viper). EDG Viper kills DWG Canyon.
- (33:15) Team fight breaks out over Baron. DWG flawlessly finds four kills (EDG Flandre, EDG Jiejie, EDG Scout, and EDG Viper).
- (35:24) Team fight breaks out over Elder Drake. DWG finds four kills (EDG Flandre, EDG Canyon, EDG Viper, and EDG Meiko). EDG Scout kills DWG Beryl.
- (35:51) DWG runs it down mid lane and destroys EDG’s Nexus.
- (36:02) DWG Win Match 3.
- Final Kill Tally: DWG 17 – 7 EDG
Match 4 (EDG Victory)
- (6:34) EDG Scout kills EDG Khan with the help of EDG Jiejie in the top river.
- (12:38) DWG kills EDG bot laners (EDG Viper and EDG Meiko) in a three-man gank under bot tower.
- (14:27) EDG Viper kills DWG Canyon in a 3v3 skirmish in the river above mid lane.
- (21:46) Team fight breaks out in mid lane. DWG Showmaker kills EDG Scout.
- (26:26) EDG Jiejie steals fourth Drake to claim Ocean Soul.
- (30:50) Team fight breaks out over Baron. EDG Flandre kills DWG Khan.
- (32:26) Team fight breaks out in mid lane. EDG finds two kills (DWG Beryl and DWG Ghost).
- (32:55) EDG Jiejie kills DWG Khan after chasing him down from the team fight. EDG Flandre, empowered by Earth Soul and Baron buff, backdoors DWG Nexus.
- (33:08) EDG Wins Match 4.
Match 5 (EDG Victory)
- (8:38) Team fight breaks out over Rift Herald. EDG Flandre kills DWG Beryl.
- (9:42) EDG Flandre kills DWG Khan after diving him from the top side bush with EDG Jiejie.
- (13:59) EDG Jiejie kills DWG Khan after EDG Flandre baits him towards EDG’s top side tower.
- (16:38) DWG Showmaker kills EDG Jiejie in a team fight in the top river.
- (23:11) Team fight breaks out in the bot river. EDG finds four kills (DWG Khan, DWG Canyon, DWG Showmaker, and DWG Beryl). DWG Khan kills EDG Viper.
- (29:33) Team fight breaks out over fifth Drake. EDG claims Ocean Soul. EDG kills all of DWG. DWG finds two kills (EDG Meiko and EDG Jiejie).
- (36:21) team fight breaks out over Elder Drake. EDG finds three kills and claims Elder buff (DWG Canyon, DWG Khan, and DWG Beryl). DWG finds two kills (EDG Jiejie and EDG Flandre)
- (38:08) EDG Scout kills DWG Ghost under tier 2 bot lane tower while the rest of EDG claims Baron. DWG Showmaker kills EDG Scout.
- (38:59) EDG runs it down top lane and claims 3 towers and an inhibitor.
- (41:04) EDG runs it down mid and bot, claiming the remaining towers and inhibitors. A team fight breaks out in DWG’s base. EDG finds three kills (DWG Canyon, DWG Showmaker, and DWG Beryl). DWG finds two kills (EDG Flandre and EDG Meiko). EDG breaks DWG Nexus.
- (41:19) EDG Wins Match 5.
Lee “Scout” Ye-chan Wins 2021 Worlds MVP
Although many fans, and Ye-chan himself, felt that the award should have been bestowed upon EDG’s jungle Zhao “Jiejie” Li-jie, Lee “Scout” Ye-chan was declared the 2021 League of Legends WCS MVP. In his acceptance speech he credited the hard work of his teammates, especially Li-jie, who he claimed was more deserving of the award.
With the 2021 WCS coming to a close, eyes are on DWG as top laner Kim “Khan” Dong-ha leaves the professional League of Legends scene after announcing his retirement earlier this season. Who will the 2021 LoL WCS runner-ups recruit to fill their former-championship team?
