The League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK)’s top seed, DAMWON Gaming, has crushed the League of Legends European Championship (LEC)’s #1 seed, G2 Esports 3-1, setting a record for the fastest game time at Worlds in Game 4 which they won in 19 minutes and three seconds (19:03). In doing so, DAMWON avenged their loss in the 2019 Worlds quarterfinals and advanced to the finals, the first time a Korean team advanced to that stage since 2017.
DAMWON Gaming ran the show throughout the day, with Game 2 standing as an outlier as it ended in G2 Esports’ favor. The Korean team, whose players have voiced their desire to crush G2 in revenge for their 3-1 defeat in the 2019 quarterfinals, has overpowered its European opponent and left little doubt as to which team was better – setting a tournament record for the fastest Worlds victory during the final game of the series.
"I'm happy that we were able to get our revenge on G2," Heo "ShowMaker" Su said during DAMWON Gaming's postgame press conference. "Because G2 has been taking down all the LCK teams so far, I'm happy that also got revenge for the LCK teams."
Although G2 Esports started Game 1 on a strong note, with Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski’s Lillia ganking the solo lanes, DAMWON took over in the bot lane as Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee’s Leona and Jang "Ghost" Yong-jun’s Jhin capitalized on their bot lane opponents’ overzealousness at the 4-minute mark. From there, BeryL freely roamed the map and assisted Kim "Canyon" Geon-bu and ShowMaker in claiming objectives (such as an 11-minute Rift Herald) and responding to G2’s dives (such as a 12-minute overcommitment in the bot lane).
As G2 Esports experienced their first setback in the series, they acted in a way that would reoccur in their losses: throwing Hail Mary plays, and hoping that they would work. In Game 1, that was not the case as DAMWON’s lead was too steep to overcome, and as the game ended 22 kills to 6 after 28 minutes.
However, the LEC squad thrived in Game 2 with Twisted Fate and Camille in tow to spark skirmishes, and with Kindred to negate all-in attempts on DAMWON’s side. As G2 thwarted BeryL’s Sett with a 2-for-1 trade in the bot lane (4:50), Mihael "mikyx" Mehle’s Leona roamed the map and assisted Jankos in a top lane gank (6:05) to set Jang "Nuguri" Ha-gwon’s Fiora in a disadvantageous position. In turn, they paved the way for a lategame victory as their composition outscaled DAMWON’s, and as Nuguri was neutralized from then onward. By the 18-minute mark, through constant skirmishing, G2 held a 2k gold lead despite being down two towers.
Despite those circumstances, DAMWON were far from powerless, with a 3-for-1 fight in the bot lane to prove it at Minute 19. However, as G2’s champions scaled to two items across the board, they took over the game starting minute 24. Successive skirmishes served to further prove G2’s superiority during the game, to the tune of 25 kills to 8 and full Drake and Baron Nashor control, as DAMWON’s nexus collapsed after 33 minutes.
Such a display of strength would be the last from the European team as DAMWON secured Lulu in the top lane and Syndra mid, alongside picks on which they have proven themselves: Ashe, Leona and Graves. After a botched bot lane towerdive allowed Ghost’s Ashe to trade 2-for-2 in the bot lane, DAMWON secured a tempo advantage in the jungle and in the bottom lane – a lead that kept growing as mikyx’s attempts at ambushes backfired.
G2’s show of resistance in Game 4 lasted 22 minutes as, despite their superiority in isolated skirmishes and extended fights, DAMWON prevailed around objectives, securing Mountain Soul at Minute 24, a 2-0 teamfight leading to a Baron Nashor takedown at the 27:46 mark, and game-ending 3-0 teamfight after performing a strategic retreat into the fog of war at Minute 31.
With their tournament lives on the line, G2 banned Lulu and Ashe, leaving Caitlyn, Sett and Braum open – the latter a BeryL staple when equipped with the Hail of Blades keystone. Alongside ShowMaker’s Twisted Fate and Canyon’s Kindred, those three champions wreaked havoc upon G2’s constant skirmishing, leaving the European squad listless. Try as they might, it was only a matter of time until they tasted elimination.
Indeed, DAMWON’s lead at the 13-minute mark, 24k gold to 19.5k, was irreversible. And as they used their advantage over and over, fighting while sieging objectives, they obliterated G2 in 19 minutes and three seconds, the shortest Worlds game to date.
DAMWON advance to face the winner of the game between TOP Esports and Suning, guaranteeing the LCK’s first appearance in the finals since 2017. Back then, Korea was considered the best League of Legends region, and two of its representatives clashed in the finals – with Samsung Galaxy beating SK Telecom T1 3-0.
