DWG.KIA books their slot in the semifinals against T1 after sweeping Brion Esports 3-0 in the quarterfinals.
The Worlds 2020 champions have had a turbulent season, to say the least as they struggle to find their footing in this season's split. However, they are still a force to be reckoned with and they showed just why in a clean three-nil sweep against Brion Esports. They will now head on to face T1 in the semifinals, which will start this Saturday, March 26.
DWG headed into the quarterfinals as clear favourites against Brion, who are making their playoffs debut. However, both teams were tied at one apiece after they each took a series off one another. Sadly, Brion could barely make an impact as DWG took them to the sword in all three games.
The first game started at a rather slow pace with both teams feeling each other out at the beginning. There was barely any action until the 17th minute when Heo "ShowMaker" Su's tried to jump Kim "Lava" Tae-hoon on the top lane but was rudely interrupted by his teammate, Yoo "Delight" Hwan-joong. This allowed the floodgates to open as every DWG and Brion member started converging to the top lane to take part in the action. After trading three kills each, both Seo "deokdam" Dae-gil and Kim "Canyon" Geon-bu were hot on the heels of Park "Morgan" Gi-tae and Park "Hena" Jeung-hwan, chasing them back towards their base.
From there, DWG looked to be in control of the game. They were able to farm and take objectives at the same time without much pushback from Brion. However, another team fight soon broke out when contesting for the fourth drake and it was DWG who came out on top, slaying four and losing only one in the process. Brion tried to push down DWG's mid-lane but was rightfully thwarted back, claiming one kill and losing three in return.
It was pretty much a cakewalk for DWG as they were able to claim the Baron twice without much contest from Brion while also picking them off at will. The game soon came to an end when all five of Brion were at the mid-lane and got caught out of position by DWG. They ended up getting team wiped and soon called the game.
For the second game in a row, DWG decided to stick with Akali in the top lane for Noh "Burdol" Tae-yoon and Leona for Kim "Kellin" Hyeong-gyu. But unlike the first match, Brion was on the offensive from the early game, diving into DWG's bottom lane and successfully getting the first blood while trading a kill in return. Both teams did skirmish quite frequently during the early game but to no avail aside from DWG getting an additional kill early on while Brion responded in kind sometime later.
Heading into the mid-game, Brion got caught out in DWG's jungle and were punished for trespassing, losing four while only getting ShowMaker in return. However, Brion was not going to take that lying down as just minutes later, mass teleports onto the top lane landed them three key kills on DWG's frontline. Sadly, they were then outclassed by DWG when contesting for yet another fourth drake and they paid heavily by getting team wiped.
When the late game rolled around, DWG were in cruise control and kept Brion at arm's length the entire time. Brion tried their best to push out DWG's first outer turret but could not even get that done as they were immediately jumped from behind and picked off one by one once more. With their backs against the ropes, Brion tried their best to defend their base but could only do so much against a DWG composition that was miles ahead.
With DWG now on match point, many were wondering if a reverse sweep was in the cards for Brion. Much like game two, Brion started the third and final match in high gear, claiming the first blood once again but ended up trading two lives for it. DWG ended up taking control over the early game proceedings, dictating the flow of the game and picking off Brion with conviction.
The mid-game told a similar story but it did feature some fight from Brion, albeit short-lived. DWG managed to claim four kills towards Brion's one, showing just how far ahead they are in the game. As the late game approaches, DWG had total control of the map, not giving Brion any time to breathe or farm as they looked to close out the series. They even tried to contest a Baron attempt but were swiftly put down by DWG. The former world champions soon started split-pushing all three lanes into Brion's base, who could only watch their structures collapse and soon after, their tournament lives.
LCK Playoffs
With DWG now set to face up against their old nemesis T1, there is still plenty of LCK action yet to unfold. DRX will be going up against Kwangdong Freecs tomorrow with the winner going on to face Gen.G Esports in the semifinals. DRX has already beaten Freecs on two separate occasions during the group stage so it will be interesting to see what happens in a best-of-five series.
