Deft’s Last Dance ends as a World Champion beating Faker

When you take a step back and realize the scale of the entire situation, it becomes even harder to believe. We already did an article covering the road DRX and Deft had to go through these past 12 months to get here, but the ending made it even better. The two oldest and most successful players in LCK history matched up in the final game of the World Championship. And luckily for us, the winner gets to set off into the sunset. 

United in rivalry: Faker versus Deft

These two players have impacted the League of Legends Esports scene so much, but the value in their history is forever intertwined. Deft and Faker dropped out of the same Mapo High School in Seoul, South Korea. They made their debuts as professional players in April 2013, with only three days separating them. 

Faker won the first match-up, which was the third series in their young career, but Deft might have had the last laugh. Over the next 9,5 years, they have faced each other around 100 times, with 2210 professional games combined between the two. On its own, this is a feat deserving of merit, considering the average career in esports lasts under two years. 

Since that April in 2013, their careers have taken different trajectories, but the end goal has always been the same. Deft has bounced around six different teams, while Faker has stayed true to SKT, now known as T1. Deft had never reached the final of the World Championship until now, while this was Faker’s fifth appearance on the biggest stage. Faker won his first one his rookie year, while Deft failed to get past the quarterfinals before this year. 

In their head-to-head matches, Faker holds a 65% win rate, but he is 0:2 against Deft in finals at international competitions. That dreadful MSI 2015 loss comes to mind when EDG and Deft slayed the “Unkillable Demon King” in a similar five-game fashion. Everything in their careers up until this point has been a part of the plot, and as we inch closer to their mandatory military service in Korea and eventual retirements, we can only be thankful for the memories. 

How Deft became a World Champion

Game one was a clean display of force, with T1 closing the game out in less than 30 minutes. Ironically enough, the game and series kicked off with Faker being first-blooded and Deft being the next victim. T1 dominated across the map, with superior team fighting and macro decisions, mounting up to a 10 thousand gold lead. The opener also featured the first instance of T1 bot laner Gumayushi stealing neutral objectives. 

Game two kicked off similarly, with T1 securing a 3000 gold lead at the 12-minute mark. Hopes of a competitive series had started to dwindle, as many analysts had predicted a 3-0 victory in favor of T1. But time and time again, like many times this year, DRX persevered and managed to crawl back. 

The solo laners of DRX played their hearts out, forcing favorable fights and giving DRX soul point, 23 minutes into the game. The flanking potential of Camille and Sylas really hurt T1’s team composition, made up of four ranged champions. 45 minutes into the game and the outnumbered DRX once again rose to the occasion, winning the Baron team fight and the game.

Game three was a game of inches, with neither team creating a substantial lead throughout the first 25 minutes. But madness ensued in the following 6 minutes. Both junglers lost the smite battle on the crucial neutral objectives, but Gumayusi became the hero of T1. Their bot laner stole the Baron with a Varus Q ability, taking the series to match point. 

Resilience is a trait only champions can display, and we should have known it by game four. Like on many occasions throughout the year, this DRX never flinched under the pressure. Sure jungler Pyosik missed several crucial smites due to nerves, but he is getting a Kindred Worlds skin regardless. Facing elimination, DRX did what they did best. Deft might have been the rock and stable foundation this team needed throughout the turbulent year.

 But they got to the final of the World Championship because players like Zeka and Kingen continuously stepped up their performance when it mattered the most. So how does DRX crawl back from the 1-2 deficit? Outdraft T1 by countering Faker’s Akali and put your faith in the hands of your solo lanes. Drafting skill-check matchups into T1 might sound like a recipe for disaster when you are facing the most talented 20-year-old Koreans on the planet. But DRX were the better team, and they proved it with a 28-minute victory to tie the series and send us to Silver Scrapes.

A tense game five kicked off with neither team willing to pull the trigger on a play that could backfire. T1 managed to secure a small gold lead but the game seemed to be blown wide open when DRX nearly aced T1 at the 20-minute mark thanks to a double flank.  But just as DRX were hoping to expand their lead and take control over the deciding game, disaster struck. It was Gumayushi once again stealing the Baron with Varus’s Q ability. The mental fortitude DRX showed in the next 10 minutes will go down as the main reason they became World Champions. 

Losing the Baron, getting picked apart, with T1 cracking their base, never shook the LCK’s fourth seed. They had made it this far and they weren’t going to let mistakes take their eyes off the prize. The next 10 minutes were the most pressure-packed period in LoL Esports history, and DRX managed to come out on top. Securing the Elder Dragon, stopping the last-chance effort by T1 to take their base, and finishing them off the other way. Emotions were off the charts, everyone was stunned and we had just witnessed the greatest series in the history of this game.

Aftermath of Worlds 2022

As the confetti fell to the floor in the Chase Center, everyone knew we had just witnessed history. Tears of joy and sadness were plentiful, as this was the crowd cheered tirelessly. Deft had just become a World Champion, after 5 years of failing to advance through the knockout stage. For Faker, this was his second loss on the biggest stage. But unlike in 2017, he wasn’t the one taking it the hardest. History exists to repeat itself and this time around, it was Keria who broke down from losing this game of high stakes. 

As we move forward into the offseason, a lot of questions remain open. This T1 squad full of talented youngsters had bared so much pressure these last two seasons. Last year they lost in the semifinals as rookies, with everyone except Faker having only single-digit games of international experience. This year they set the bar for expectations even higher, finishing 18-0 during the Spring Split, winning the LCK title before faltering to RNG in game 5 of the MSI Finals. Following that up with losing in the LCK and World Finals must be a gut-wrenching feeling. They can only be denied international success for so long, given the generational talent they possess. But will Faker be around to see the young guys flourish?

 He and Deft are both free agents and still have at least a year before they have to serve their mandatory military service. On the other hand, is Deft even coming back? The man has won everything he could in the scene of competitive League of Legends. If Faker had won an All-Star duel event, he would be the one holding the title, but he’s not. 

The peak of LoL Esports

All in all, the 2022 League of Legends World Championship was a complete success. All these storylines drew crowds and so much attention, that viewership numbers were the highest they have ever been. A record-breaking 5,1 million people watched the drama unfold and that’s even without considering the Chinese audience. On the flip side, it seems Riot has some work to do heading into the next season. 

Travis Gatford has already reported that Riot is planning a format change for international events in 2023. And while fans are upset that this might mean fewer double-elimination brackets, another issue is even more worrying. Of the 80 games at this international event, Yuumi was banned 68 times and won all eight times she was picked. Professional players have long alluded to the fact that this champion is not healthy for the competitive scene, but now it’s impossible to ignore. 

Worlds Skins Announced

As is the case every year, the winners of the World Championship choose a champion for which they will receive a custom skin to celebrate their win. 

• Top laner Kingen, chose his most played champion during this circuit, on which he dominated. The Darkin Blade, Aatrox.
• Jungler Pyosik, meaning “Mark” in Korean and named after Kindred‘s death mark, chose the Lamb and the Wolf.
• Mid laner Zeka, who made a name for himself this tournament playing skill-expressive champions like Sylas and Akali, has chosen the latter for his skin.
• Bot laner Deft, who is the most tenured ADC player in the world, has chosen an old classic in Caitlyn.
• Support Beryl, has chosen Ashe for his Worlds skin as she closely resembles his main character from his second favorite game, Genshin Impact.

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