Deft knocked out in final Swiss Stage upset at LoL Worlds

Esports

Published: 30 Oct. 2023, 14:16

Deft knocked out in final Swiss Stage upset at LoL Worlds

Korea's Dplus KIA loses 2-0 to Korea's KT Rolster during the Swiss Stage of the 2023 League of Legends World Championship and is eliminated from the tournament. [RIOT GAMES]

Eight teams remain in the 2023 League of Legends (LoL) World Championship as the tournament heads to Busan for the sudden-death Knockout Stage. But oh how the mighty have already fallen.

The top-16, round robin Swiss Stage came to a dramatic close over the weekend, sealing in an unhappy fate for one-time legend and franchise favorite Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu, who will not get a chance to defend his title.

His team, Korea’s Dplus KIA, lost 2-0 to fellow Korean team KT Rolster in an all-Korean showdown on Sunday along with their chance to advance to the quarterfinals.

It’s a far fall from glory for the 27-year-old, who became a poster boy for the franchise after helping his then-team DragonX defeat fan favorite Korea’s T1 during last year’s final.

DragonX’s underdog story — entering the tournament unseeded before advancing to the finals against longtime rival T1 — captured the game’s international fans and became the subject of discussions on online forums and a high-production documentary following their Nov. 2022 win. Deft is also the main character of the music video for this year’s Worlds anthem, “GODS,” sung by Korean girl group NewJeans.

But Deft’s shot at a repeat ended Sunday after a tough Swiss Stage run. Dplus KIA started the three-strikes-and-you’re-out round with two losses and were unable to pull off a reverse sweep comeback.

“To all of our fans, who laughed with us, cried with us, and came along with us on our journey to offer support and encouragement, we sincerely thank you,” Dplus KIA said in a statement posted to social media after their loss.

Deft and Dplus KIA’s Sunday loss was perhaps the second major upset of the tournament following North American Team Liquid (TL)’s exit after three straight losses last week.

TL had in their lineup Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon, who joined the team after winning last year’s Worlds alongside Deft with former team DRX. Neither will have a chance to see the final.

Two champions lighter, Worlds heads to Busan for the Knockout Stage, which will determine the two teams who will face off in the final, held back in Seoul on Nov. 19.

Teams will face-off in best-of-five matches and must win to keep alive their shot at the coveted Summoner’s Cup. This year, the winner walks away with a guaranteed $445,000 — 20 percent of the $2,225,000 purse.

Among the eight teams headed to Busan, four are Chinese-owned, three are Korean and one is from North America. Just one team in the quarterfinals does not have a Korean player on its roster: Chinese-owned Bilibili Gaming.

China’s JD Gaming, LNG Esports and Weibo Gaming, along with North America’s NRG, all have at least one Korean player representing them at this year’s Worlds.

Korea — and China — have historically dominated the professional LoL world. More than a third of the competitors in the round of 16 Swiss Stage were Korean — 36 of the 91 registered players.

The quarterfinals run from Thursday through Sunday with one match per day, and each contest is set to begin at 5 p.m. local time at Sajik Indoor Gymnasium in Busan — and will also stream online.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]