DRX defeats T1 to claim League of Legends Worlds 2022 title
DRX defeated T1 3-2 at the League of Legends World Championship finals. The LCK fourth seed became the first team to climb through the championship from Play-Ins to the finals. The team beat Worlds 2021 champions Edward Gaming in the quarterfinals and LCK Summer champions Gen.G in the semifinals.
DRX’s Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu faced his former high schoolmate, T1’s Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok. Both players debuted in 2013, but only Faker would win three championships. However, Deft finally came out on top and won his first-ever world championship.
The three-time Worlds champion T1 initially dominated Game 1, with Faker leading the charge with his favorite champion, Azir. Top laner Choi “Zeus” Woo-je played Yone, while Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong picked Varus. DRX’s Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee used Heimerdinger to support mid-laner Kim “Zeka” Geon-woo, who played Sylas.
Both teams fought fiercely, with T1 claiming the Ocean Dragon Soul. Forty-five minutes into the game, T1 tried to claim the Hand of Baron. However, DRX still managed to half T1’s forces. T1 and DRX clashed again the second time Baron Nashor appeared. DRX lost a few heroes, but Varus managed to kill the Baron.
The series continued to drag to Game 5. T1 picked Karma as their first hero, while DRX chose Azir and Caitlyn. The Piltover sheriff had helped the team beat Gen.G in the semifinals. T1 picked Victor and Varus as their AP and AD carry, while DRX made a gamble and chose Hecarim and Bard.
The two teams fought over the Baron once again. DRX came out as the winner in this scuffle by killing four of T1’s heroes. With the Hand of Baron buff, DRX marched toward T1’s nexus through mid-lane and claimed the Worlds 2022 title.
“Ever since my debut, every single night, I’ve been dreaming about myself winning the world championship. It was only a dream, but now, I’ve made it. I’m so happy right now,” Deft said after defeating T1.
“One thing I wanted to say was ‘I’m the best player in the world,’ but today, I realized that being the best player doesn’t matter. It is about our team being the best in the world.”
DRX reveals their Worlds 2022 skins
Players who win the League of Legends World Championship will get personalized skins for the next iteration of the tournament. After the win, DRX revealed their champions of choice.
Kingen said he wanted a personalized Worlds skin for Aatrox. In the finals, he became the MVP through aggressive play using the hero. Meanwhile, Pyosik chose Kindred, with whom he gained fame in 2019 in solo queue matches.
Zeka selected Akali, whom he used to win four out of six games during this competition. Per Games of Legends data, Zeka finished 18 games using Akali this year with a record of 13-5. Deft picked Caitlyn for his Worlds skin. The champion has been a star in his career since 2013.
Unlike other DRX players, BeryL has yet to make up his mind, but he is leaning toward Ashe, whom he used in Game 4 against Edward Gaming. BeryL previously chose Leona when he won the championship in 2020.
