DK is literally at the crossroads of life and death. At the 2024 LoL World Championship (hereinafter referred to as Walz) Switzerland stage, the team had two wins and two losses, putting it on the brink of collapse. If the team wins the final round of the fifth round, which runs from the evening of June 13 to the early morning of June 14, it will dramatically join the team for the quarterfinals in Paris, France. However, if it loses, it will return to Korea.
Defel Kia Tigers beat T1 at a competition to select representatives for LCK in the Korean league, and participated in Walls as the third seed. Having started its competition from the Swiss stage that is currently underway in Berlin, Germany, Defel Kia had good initial momentum. It quickly secured two wins by meeting Fnatic of the European league LEC and Flyquest of the North American league LCS. However, it lost to Chinese league third seed Li Ning Gaming (LNG) by a score of 2-0 in a competition between two-win teams that can advance to the quarterfinals if they only secure one win. In the ensuing competition, the team lost to TES, the second seed in the LPL, ultimately pushing it to the final match. 스포츠토토
There are many factors in the defeat of Difle Kia, but fans and officials point out Banpick, which cannot keep up with the trend, as the biggest problem. For example, Difle Kia rarely uses Yone, the mid-champion who is in the spotlight at Walz. Yone is currently the most notable card with a Banpick rate of over 90% in the Swiss stage. The winning rate is also in the 70% range. However, Difle Kia midliner “Showmaker” Heo Soo chose for the first time against TES after not using it on the Walz stage, but lost. Heo Soo showed his disfavor to the extent that he took it out only once in the last LCK Summer regular league, where Yone was often used.
It is also regrettable to see Banpik’s direction. In the previous two sets of the TES, the two TES champions included Jax, Sejuanyi, and Yonero’s strong upper body. However, due to the combination focused on physical damage (AD), the opponent’s top liner lacked the ability to suppress Xante, the tanker champion. “369” Bai Zhao of the TES, who has grown comfortably in the actual game, led his team to victory with a kill score of 6 kills, 1 death and 13 assists. Bai Zhao chose visible armor and sheet metal boots to enhance his ability to survive.
Difle Kia needs a change in order to get on the last train to Paris. Officials point out that efforts are needed to reinterpret Walls Meta in a direction that suits them, like T1, which advanced to the quarterfinals first. In other words, it is necessary to focus on “doing well” as it is the last match. Some analysts say that they should think about a new card like FlyQuest, which hit Hanwha Life e-Sports (HLE) in the fourth round of Switzerland. FlyQuest caught Hanwha Life off guard with cards that do not often appear such as Nunu and Wilfump in the Swiss fourth round match held on the 10th, winning the set.
It could also change its roster. Definitely Kia has brought its supporter “Kellyn” Kim Hyung-kyu to the Walls as its Sixman. Jung Jae-hoon, a “Frame,” was mainly used in the latter half of the LCK Summer Split, but since he played in regular league games before, there is a chance that he will take the mound as a Joker card in the final match.
Meanwhile, when the Swiss stage ends, the race for the World Cup championship will take place in earnest. At the knockout stage in Paris, France, eight teams will stage a single-round tournament match among the best of five teams. The long-awaited final match will take place on March 2 at the O2 Arena in London, the U.K.
