Damwon Gaming
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Dplus KIA (DK), formerly known as DWG KIA and DAMWON Gaming (
abbr. An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening, contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened form of a word, usually ended with a trailing perio ...
DWG), is a South Korean professional
esports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...
organization. Its ''
League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL'', commonly referred to as ''League'', is a multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for ''Warcraf ...
'' team competes in the
LCK Tyrosin-protein kinase Lck (or lymphocyte-specific protein tyrosine kinase) is a 56 kDa protein that is found inside lymphocytes and encoded in the human by the ''LCK'' gene. The Lck is a member of Src kinase family (SKF) and is important f ...
, the top-level league for the game in South Korea. Dplus KIA won their first LCK title on 5 September 2020 after defeating DRX in the 2020 LCK summer finals. Eight weeks later on 31 October 2020, Damwon won the 2020 World Championship after a dominant run through the group and knockout stages and a 3–1 victory over Suning in the grand finals.


History


2017

DAMWON Gaming was formed on 28 May 2017 by computer manufacturer Damwon after it acquired the Challengers Korea team Mirage Gaming. The team's initial roster consisted of top laner Lee "Parang" Sang-won, jungler Kim "Crush" Jun-seo, mid laner Kim "TRY" Yeong-hoon, bot laner Cho "BeryL" Geon-hee, and support Ryu "Hoit" Ho-seong. Despite a strong start and the addition of mid laner Park "CooN" Jae-ha midway through the summer split, Damwon Gaming finished fifth in the regular season. The roster was subsequently revamped, with Jang "Nuguri" Ha-gwon, Noh "Alive" Jin-wook, and newcomer Heo "ShowMaker" Su replacing Parang, BeryL, and TRY respectively. The new roster did not see much success at the 2017 LoL KeSPA Cup, and so jungler Son "Punch" Min-hyuk and bot laner Kim "Veritas" Kyoung-min were brought in for the 2018 Spring Split.


2018

During the spring regular season, BeryL briefly played for DAMWON Gaming as a substitute bot laner before swapping to support. DAMWON Gaming finished second in the regular season but lost to Ever8 Winners in the first round of playoffs. Crush, Alive, and Veritas left the team shortly afterwards, and bot laner Shin "Nuclear" Jeong-hyeon joined the team to fill in the bot laner position. DAMWON Gaming dominated the summer regular season, finishing first and losing only a single series to Team BattleComics. DAMWON Gaming later qualified for the
LCK Tyrosin-protein kinase Lck (or lymphocyte-specific protein tyrosine kinase) is a 56 kDa protein that is found inside lymphocytes and encoded in the human by the ''LCK'' gene. The Lck is a member of Src kinase family (SKF) and is important f ...
after defeating Team BattleComics in the first qualifying match of the 2019 spring promotion tournament. Rookie jungler Kim "Canyon" Geon-bu was signed to the team prior to the 2018 LoL KeSPA Cup, which he debuted in. DAMWON Gaming was eliminated in the second round of the tournament by
Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...
and ended third to fourth. Top laner Lee "Flame" Ho-jong joined DAMWON Gaming as a substitute player after he returned to South Korea from the United States, where he competed for two years. Bot laner Lee "Aries" Chae-hwan also joined from BBQ Olivers, which DAMWON Gaming helped relegate in the aforementioned promotion tournament.


2019

DAMWON Gaming finished fifth in the spring regular season and fourth in playoffs after losing the third-place match to
Kingzone DragonX DRX, formerly known as DragonX, is a South Korean esports organization with teams competing in ''League of Legends'', ''Tekken 7'', ''Valorant'' and ''Warcraft''. It previously had teams competing in ''Honor of Kings'' and ''Clash Royale''. DRX' ...
. Despite receiving praise for his performance in the regular season, Flame was never subbed in during playoffs, a decision which earned the team considerable criticism from fans. DAMWON Gaming was one of four LCK teams that participated in Rift Rivals 2019; the LCK won the tournament after defeating China's LPL in the playoff stage. The team retained their entire roster for the summer split and finished second in the regular season and third in playoffs, losing to SKT T1 in the third round. DAMWON Gaming later defeated Kingzone DragonX in the final match of the regional finals to qualify for the play-in stage of the 2019 World Championship. This was the first time where a team qualified for both the LCK and Worlds in the same year. DAMWON Gaming was drafted into Group D of the play-in stage, along with Turkish team Royal Youth and Brazilian team Flamengo Esports. The team finished top of their group undefeated, and later qualified for the main event after defeating Vietnamese team Lowkey Esports in one of the qualifying matches. DAMWON Gaming was drafted into Group D of the main event as well, along with China's
Invictus Gaming Invictus Gaming (IG, sometime stylized as iG, zh, s=iG电子竞技俱乐部, l=iG Esports Club) is a Chinese multi-game esports organization founded in 2011 by businessman Wang Sicong. They are primarily known for their ''Dota 2'', ''League o ...
, North America's
Team Liquid Team Liquid is a multi-regional professional esports organization based in the Netherlands that was founded in 2000. They signed their first professional players with the release of '' StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty''. In 2012, Team Liquid acq ...
, and Taiwan's ahq eSports Club. The team once again finished top of their group, but were knocked out of the tournament by Europe's
G2 Esports G2 Esports (or simply G2) is a European esports organization headquartered in Berlin, Germany, with players competing in ''League of Legends'', ''Valorant'', ''Counter-Strike 2'', ''Hearthstone (video game), Hearthstone'', ''Rocket League'', '' ...
in the quarterfinals. DRX (formerly Kingzone DragonX), which had introduced several rookies to its roster prior to the 2019 LoL KeSPA Cup, eliminated DAMWON Gaming from the tournament in the quarterfinals.


2020

Despite their performance in the 2019 LoL KeSPA Cup, Damwon's roster was kept in its entirety going into the 2020 spring split. Damwon later added Jang "Ghost" Yong-jun, an AD Carry player, to their roster in February. The team finished fifth in the regular season and fourth in playoffs, falling to DRX once again in a close series. DAMWON Gaming was one of three LCK teams that participated in the 2020 Mid-Season Cup; the team did not make it out of the group stage and finished fifth to sixth. Without making any roster changes once again, Damwon placed first in the summer regular season with only two series losses, qualifying the team for the summer finals automatically. DAMWON Gaming swept DRX in the finals and won their first LCK title on 5 September. On 31 October, DAMWON Gaming defeated Suning 3–1 in the 2020 World Championship finals to become world champions. DAMWON Gaming announced in late December that it had partnered with
Kia Motors Kia Corporation (, formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry (京城精密工業) and Kia Motors Corporation) is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, ...
and would rebrand as DWG KIA prior to the
2021 LCK season The 2021 LCK season was the tenth season of South Korea's LCK, a professional esports league for the MOBA PC game ''League of Legends''. 2021 was also the first season LCK implemented their long-term partnership model. On 1 November 2020, Riot ...
.


2021

Coming into the 2021 season, Damwon Kia made changes to their roster by promoting one of its academy players, Kim "RangJun" Sang-joon as its midlaner, sharing the position with ShowMaker. They also replaced their star top-laner Nuguri with Kim "Khan" Dong-ha as he departed to FPX. Nonetheless, they won the 2020 KeSPA Cup on 2 January 2021, sweeping Nongshim RedForce in the finals. Damwon Kia ended the 2021 Spring Split regular season in first place with a record of 16–2. They were locked into the playoff semifinals against HLE, sweeping them and qualifying for their second LCK finals. They were met by
Gen.G Gen.G (, stand for "Generation Gaming"), also referred as Gen.G Esports and previously known as KSV Esports, is a professional esports organization with headquarters in Santa Monica, California, Santa Monica, Seoul, and Shanghai. According to Fo ...
in the 2021 spring playoff finals on 10 April, ending the series with another sweep against their opponents. This gave Damwon their second LCK title, punching their ticket to the
2021 Mid-Season Invitational The 2021 Mid-Season Invitational was the sixth Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), a Riot Games-organised tournament for ''League of Legends'', a multiplayer online battle arena video game. The tournament was the culmination of the 2021 Spring Split ...
. Damwon Kia finished their group stage with a 5–1 record with one loss against NA's
Cloud9 Cloud9 Esports, Inc., or simply Cloud9 (C9), is an American professional esports company based in Santa Monica, California. The company was originally founded as a professional ''League of Legends'' team by Jack and Paullie Etienne in May 2013 ...
in the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational group stage. They headed into the Rumble Stage, dropping 2 games to China's
Royal Never Give Up Royal Never Give Up (RNG) is a Chinese esports organization. It began as a professional ''League of Legends'' team named Royal Club competing in the ''League of Legends'' Pro League (LPL), the game's top level of competition in China. To refle ...
, ending with a 8–2 record. This gave them the 1st seed heading into the playoffs and they chose Europe's
MAD Lions MAD Lions was a Spanish esports organisation owned by OverActive Media. Its main ''League of Legends'' team, which was rebranded from Splyce, competed in Europe's top-level league for the game, the LEC. Its secondary ''League of Legends'' tea ...
as their semifinals opponent, managing to narrowly beat them 3–2 to lock in a spot at the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational final on 23 May, facing off against China's
Royal Never Give Up Royal Never Give Up (RNG) is a Chinese esports organization. It began as a professional ''League of Legends'' team named Royal Club competing in the ''League of Legends'' Pro League (LPL), the game's top level of competition in China. To refle ...
, the same team they dropped two games against in the Rumble Stage. Damwon Kia ended up losing the close series with a score of 3–2, crowning China's
Royal Never Give Up Royal Never Give Up (RNG) is a Chinese esports organization. It began as a professional ''League of Legends'' team named Royal Club competing in the ''League of Legends'' Pro League (LPL), the game's top level of competition in China. To refle ...
their second MSI title. Damwon Kia continued their strong form during the 2021 Summer Split, having a 12-6 record in the regular season, before defeating T1 3-0 in the finals to secure a spot in the
2021 League of Legends World Championship The 2021 ''League of Legends'' World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game ''League of Legends''. It was the eleventh iteration of the ''League of Legends'' World Championship, an annual inte ...
. They finished their group stage during the event with a perfect 6–0 run, completely dominating all competition. In the quarterfinals stage, they faced off against the European team
MAD Lions MAD Lions was a Spanish esports organisation owned by OverActive Media. Its main ''League of Legends'' team, which was rebranded from Splyce, competed in Europe's top-level league for the game, the LEC. Its secondary ''League of Legends'' tea ...
, sweeping them 3–0, continuing their perfect run. Their perfect run would be ended in the semifinals by a fellow Korean team, three time world champions T1, who would become the first team to take games off Damwon, though Damwon did win the series 3–2. In the final match, they faced China's Edward Gaming, who defeated them in a very close 3–2 series.


2022

The team went through various changes before the start of the regular season, with Ghost and BeryL departing the roster, while Khan announced his retirement from professional play as a result of mandatory military service in South Korea. To replace them, the team signed Seo "deokdam" Dae-gil and Kim "Kellin" Hyeong-gyu from Nongshim RedForce, along with top laners Noh "Burdol" Tae-yoon and Yoon "Hoya" Yong-ho. Damwon finished third in the 2022 Spring regular season with a 11–7 record. During the playoffs, The team swept Fredit Brion in the quarterfinals before losing 2–3 to Gen.G in the semifinals, finishing third to fourth overall. In April 2022, DWG KIA announced the return of Nuguri, while Hoya departed from the active roster a month later. The team put up a similar performance to Spring, finishing 4th following a loss against T1. Due to their combined results, DWG KIA qualified for the Regional Finals, where they secured the third seed for the
2022 League of Legends World Championship The 2022 ''League of Legends'' World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game ''League of Legends''. It was the twelfth iteration of the ''League of Legends'' World Championship, an annual inte ...
by beating Liiv SANDBOX. They finished second in their group, eliminating
Evil Geniuses Evil Geniuses (EG) is an American esports organization based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. Founded in 1999, the organization has fielded players in various fighting games, ''Call of Duty (series), Call of Duty'', ''Counter-Strike ...
and
G2 Esports G2 Esports (or simply G2) is a European esports organization headquartered in Berlin, Germany, with players competing in ''League of Legends'', ''Valorant'', ''Counter-Strike 2'', ''Hearthstone (video game), Hearthstone'', ''Rocket League'', '' ...
, before losing their quarter finals match against fellow Korean team
Gen.G Gen.G (, stand for "Generation Gaming"), also referred as Gen.G Esports and previously known as KSV Esports, is a professional esports organization with headquarters in Santa Monica, California, Santa Monica, Seoul, and Shanghai. According to Fo ...
.


Rosters


League of Legends


Tournament results


Rainbow Six Siege


Valorant


References


External links

* {{League of Legends Champions Korea Esports teams based in South Korea League of Legends Champions Korea teams