GorillA is a retired League of Legends player who had a good run as a professional player for about 7 years after making his debut in the pro scene in 2013 while representing the Korean team NaJin White Shield. The 28-year-old player retired in December 2020, and ever since then, he has been an analyst for game publisher Riot Games, although he left them in September.
The previous World finalist has also represented other teams such as ROX Tigers, Misfits Gaming, HUYA Tigers, Kingzone DragonX, KOO Tigers, SANDBOX Gaming, and a couple others. He was renowned as one of the best Tresh and Lulu supports in Korea and was named Player of the Year in 2015 by casters Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles and Duncan “Thorin” Shields.
The former League of Legends player also reached a milestone in his career just before retiring by becoming the first ever player to amass 4000 assists in the League of Legends Championship Korea. And in the same year, he garnered 300 wins in LCK, making him the fourth player to do so after Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, Go “Score” Dong-bin, and Kim “PraY” Jong-in.
GorillA will be bringing his 7 years of expertise as a successful player to coach the players in DWG KIA, such as Korean jungler Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu, mid laner Heo “ShowMaker” Su, support Kim “Kellin” Hyeong-gyu, and the new AD Carry Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu, who joined them on November 22, alongside Kim “Canna” Chang-dong. The previous World finalist will be making his first appearance as a coach in the 2023 LCK Spring Split.
In spite of these additions, the team also recently parted ways with their coaching staff: head coach Yang “Daeny” Dae-in, coach Lee “Zefa” Jae-min, and athletic director Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun.
DWG KIA had quite an impressive match at the 2022 LCK Regional Finals; however, they were the first LCK team to be eliminated at the 2022 Worlds. The team made a median finish at the event, coming in at fifth-sixth place and losing to Gen.G in a tight match that ended in a 2-3 score; hence, their recruitment of veteran player GorillA is a sign the team aims to make a resounding performance this forthcoming season.
]]>This news was confirmed by League of Legends journalist Kang “Ashley Kang” Ji-hye, who shared the information through a Twitter post.
“Jang ‘Nuguri’ Ha-gwon, the former top laner of DWG KIA and FPX, 2020 World Champion, has decided to retire from the professional League of Legends scene,” she said.
The 23-year-old South Korean — who parted ways with DWG KIA on November 15 — started his career with I Gaming Star, where he launched his pro career in March 2017. Nuguri moved after an eight-month stint with the team and stayed with DWG KIA for over three years. He also joined FunPlus Phoenix in 2021, before rejoining DWG KIA in April of this year.
Nuguri was famed for his Vladimir skill and was a one-time MVP at the 2020 LCK Summer Finals. The top laner also participated in the just concluded LoL World Championship, in which his team came in fifth-sixth place, losing 2-3 to Gen.G in the quarterfinals.
Unlike other esports players that have recently retired and immediately jumped on content creation, Nuguri’s future is still unknown to the public.
]]>GorillA is a retired League of Legends player who had a good run as a professional player for about 7 years after making his debut in the pro scene in 2013 while representing the Korean team NaJin White Shield. The 28-year-old player retired in December 2020, and ever since then, he has been an analyst for game publisher Riot Games, although he left them in September.
The previous World finalist has also represented other teams such as ROX Tigers, Misfits Gaming, HUYA Tigers, Kingzone DragonX, KOO Tigers, SANDBOX Gaming, and a couple others. He was renowned as one of the best Tresh and Lulu supports in Korea and was named Player of the Year in 2015 by casters Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles and Duncan “Thorin” Shields.
The former League of Legends player also reached a milestone in his career just before retiring by becoming the first ever player to amass 4000 assists in the League of Legends Championship Korea. And in the same year, he garnered 300 wins in LCK, making him the fourth player to do so after Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, Go “Score” Dong-bin, and Kim “PraY” Jong-in.
GorillA will be bringing his 7 years of expertise as a successful player to coach the players in DWG KIA, such as Korean jungler Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu, mid laner Heo “ShowMaker” Su, support Kim “Kellin” Hyeong-gyu, and the new AD Carry Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu, who joined them on November 22, alongside Kim “Canna” Chang-dong. The previous World finalist will be making his first appearance as a coach in the 2023 LCK Spring Split.
In spite of these additions, the team also recently parted ways with their coaching staff: head coach Yang “Daeny” Dae-in, coach Lee “Zefa” Jae-min, and athletic director Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun.
DWG KIA had quite an impressive match at the 2022 LCK Regional Finals; however, they were the first LCK team to be eliminated at the 2022 Worlds. The team made a median finish at the event, coming in at fifth-sixth place and losing to Gen.G in a tight match that ended in a 2-3 score; hence, their recruitment of veteran player GorillA is a sign the team aims to make a resounding performance this forthcoming season.
]]>With free agency having kicked off, the franchise made the announcement via their Twitter page. They requested that the fans show some support to the current World Champion Deft and former T1 player Canna as they will be part of the team’s roster for the 2023 season.
“[Announcement: Welcome]
DWG KIA would like to introduce our new AD carry, Kim ‘Deft’ Hyuk-kyu,” the announcement tweet read.
“Please send lots of love and support for ‘Deft’, champion of the 2022 World Championship. Thank you.#DWGKIA #Welcome_Deft”
The franchise also made a different announcement tweet, welcoming Canna to the team as they look forward to making a claim in the upcoming season.
“[Announcement: Welcome]
DWG KIA announces Kim ‘Canna’ Chang-dong will join the force in the coming 2023 season,” the franchise wrote.
“Please give a warm welcome to ‘Canna’, who has long held the Top Lane against many worthy opponents.
#DWGKIA #Welcome_Canna”
DRX and Nongshim RedForce had earlier released Deft and Canna from their respective LOL rosters, making them free agents ahead of the free agency period.
Nongshim RedForce decided to ply the route of young talents, promoting their Challengers players to their main team for the 2023 LCK season, owing to their good performance at the Challengers. DRX, on the other hand, are yet to make any roster addition following their historic World Championship title win after what could be termed an unexpected run.
However, DWG KIA recorded a poor campaign on the international scene, negatively breaking all expectations. Although the franchise ran an excellent campaign at the 2020 World Championship, winning the title and posting a good run in the 2021 Worlds and the Mid-Season Invitational.
Their 2022 campaign was shattered by Gen.G in the quarterfinals after losing out in close 3-2 series. DWG KIA were the least LCK team in the tournament, as other three teams advanced to the semifinals. DRX took on T1 in the finals and defeated them to clinch the Summoner’s Cup.
Canna started out his career in 2019 with T1 and spent over two years with the franchise before joining Nongshim RedForce in late 2021, where he spent slightly over a year. The 22-year old made the LCK 2nd All-Pro Team in Summer 2020 and is yet to clinch his first international title.
This is quite a different journey with Deft, who recently won the Worlds with DRX and also has the 2015 MSI title under his belt with
DWG KIA will hope to have a better run at both the local and international scene with their 2023 roster. The complete roster includes, jungler Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu, mid laner Heo “ShowMaker” Su,support Kim “Kellin” Hyeong-gyu, and Canna and Deft. Coaches Park “Bubbling” Jun-hyung and Kim Sun-woong, have also been re-signed by the franchise, as they hope to get the best out of the coaching staff together with the two new additions.
]]>The South Korean esports organization made the announcement on their official Twitter page. They also took the time to solicit support from the fans for the new signing.
“DWG KIA announces Park ‘Estrella’ Gun has joined DWG KIA Valorant team,” the announcement read.
“Please give big support to Estrella, who will make a fabulous and infinite story with DWG KIA Valorant team.”
The franchise’s signing of Estrella rounds up the number of players on the roster to the standard five, thereby completing their Valorant roster. Earlier in the day, the franchise also announced the re-signing of Kim “Lakia” Jong-min, Park “exy” Geun-cheol, Jeong “Esperanza” Jin-cheol, and Park “allow” Sang-wook. The franchise will look to compete in the 2023 Ascension League with coach Kang “solo” Keun-chul at the helm.
“DWG KIA appreciates players who choose to be with the team,” the organization said.
“Please give big support to the DWG KIA team, which will make a great journey and challenge.”
Prior to joining DWG KIA, Estrella started off his career in Valorant in 2022 under the banner of the Desperado, in what turned out to be a very short stint. Thereafter he proceeded to star for the F4Q after spending four months with the franchise he acquired by On Sla2ers.
According to his data, for most of his career, Estrella has been known to play Jett, with Viper as the second most frequently utilized champion. In a total of 214 rounds played using Jett, he has averaged 1.39 K/D, 280.0 ACS, and 180.4 ADR. In comparison to one of the best Jett players in the world, Erick “aspas” Santos, who plays under the banner of LOUD, averages 262.1 ACS using the champion.
Although DWG KIA failed to clinch one of the franchise spots in the VCT Pacific League for the 2023 season, their Valorant roster could best any opponent. The franchise’s addition of top players such as Lakia and allow has positioned them as a team not to underestimate. The presence of the legend and former FPS player solo as the team’s head coach also guarantees they will have good guidance.
With the team not securing a spot for the 2023 partnered VCT season, it is unclear when Estrella will make his debut for the franchise. There are no matches in sight for the franchise except if they decide to partake in lower division within the regional space.
]]>According to reports, their exit was based on a mutual agreement of all parties involved, so both players will be looking forward to exploring their options ahead of the 2023 season.
The organization expressed their profound gratitude for having both players grace their team and wished them good fortune in their subsequent endeavors.
“Nuguri Jang Ha-kwon has been converted to FA status. We would like to express our infinite gratitude to Nuguri, who took charge of DWG KIA for 2022, and hope that Nuguri will be full of good things in the future. Thank you,” the team tweeted.
Nuguri is a 23-year-old South Korean player who has been on the team since April this year, and has competed in both domestic and international scenes during his stint with the organization. The player was a returning player to the team, as he first joined the team in 2017 before joining the Chinese esports outfit FunPlus Phoenix in December 2020. The player has represented the DWG KIA in the biggest League of Legends tournaments, like the 2019 World Championship,/a>, the 2020 Worlds, and the just concluded 2022 Worlds, in which they came out with a 5th-8th after being defeated by Gen.G in a match that ended with a 2:3 score.
Nuguri is a player who has won a few awards, including the Most Valuable Player award for the 2020 LCK Summer playoffs as well as Rookie of the Week awards on more than one occasion.
On the other hand, Burdol entered the world of professional esports in 2019, making his debut with T1. The player’s résumé also includes stints with Gen.G and other organizations. Burdol joined DWG KIA in December 2021, and since then he has competed for them in numerous LCK competitions, including the LCK Spring Championship in 2022, the LCK Summer Championship in 2022, and the LCK Regional Finals, which took place in September and resulted in the team winning first place.
Currently, it is unknown whether or not the players have already kicked off negotiations with other organizations.
Although one thing is certain, DWG KIA will be looking to replace the players on the team, given that the current free agency period is just a few days away.
It is also important to note that the team have just parted ways with their head coach Yang “Daeny” Dae-in, athletic director Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun, and coach Lee “Zefa” Jae-min; hence, the team may be considering more than simply replacing the two top lane players.
?More esports news
?The announcement was made on the South Korean organization’s Twitter page.?
?“?Coach Beom-ki ‘peri’ Jung joined the DWG KIA Valorant team,” the tweet read.?
?”Please give a lot of support to coach peri, who is staying anew with the DWG KIA Valorant team.”
?Peri’s coaching career started in December 2021 with the ESportsConnected team. He had previously ceased competing as a player after spending close to a year with NUTURN Gaming.?
?Peri started out his Valorant career as a player with PROPARTY on August 2020. He was quite competitive, having made a name for himself in top-tier Valorant tournaments with NUTURN. He participated in the VCT 2021 Stage 2 Masters Reykjavik, where the team finished in the top-three spot after suffering a loss to Fnatic in the lower-bracket finals.?
?Prior to moving to the Valorant esports title, peri had built a long career competing in CS:GO and Counter-Strike. He represented three franchises in his eight-year career, playing under the banners of WeMade FOX, Project kr and MVP PK. With MVP PK, peri was a victorious series away from making an appearance at the ELEAGUE Major in Boston in 2018.? ?
Having procured the services of peri, DWG KIA seem to be ready for the 2023 VCT season. The team signed Park “allow” Sang-wook on July 13 and completed a loan for Kim “Lakia” Jong-min on the same day.
While the addition of both players completes the DWG lineup, it is not clear if the roster will be untouched before the start of the new season or if there will be an introduction of new faces to the team.? ?The roster now includes allow, Lakia, Jeong “Esperanza” Jin-cheol, Park “exy” Geun-cheol, and Jung “Bangman” Min-u.
DWG KIA will join the other nine teams selected to compete in the VCT 2023 Pacific league. The 2023 campaign will commence with the Kickoff tournament, which is scheduled to start on February 14 in S?o Paulo, Brazil.
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GEN.G vs DWG KIA LoL BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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| Best Odds: | Gen.G $1.25 at GG Bet | DWG KIA $3.75 at GG Bet |
| When: | October 22, 2022 | 17:00 EDT |
| Watch Live: | Lolesports, Twitch |
Gen.G started off their LoL Worlds 2022 campaign slow after being defeated by Royal Never Give Up, in what seems to be the wake-up call they needed. Since that first game, the LCK champions have gone on to beat 100 Thieves, CFO and RNG twice on their way to taking the first seed in Group D. This Gen.G roster has stars in every single lane when they take to the Summoner’s Rift, and there is no exception when you talk about the mid-laner and jungler. Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon in the mid-lane has been outstanding at Worlds 2022, recording the fourth-best average KDA at the tournament (12.8), while Gen.G’s jungler, Han “Peanut” Wang-ho, has recorded the second-best average KDA (16.2).
The team that finished second in Group B behind JD Gaming, DWG KIA, will be looking to carry their good form out of the group stage. The only team that has beaten DWG KIA is JD Gaming, even though DWG KIA did beat JDG in their first meeting. Some consider the third game between JD Gaming and DWG KIA in the group stage to be the best match we have witnessed at these Worlds, and given that, we should see a good series here. This series could be the battle of the mid-laners, with Heo “ShowMaker” Su owning the fifth-best average KDA of 11.5, which gives us every indication that his clash with Chovy could be one to keep our eyes on.
Throughout the LCK Summer split, DWG KIA and Gen.G played out two three-map series, with both being very close, but Gen.G came out victorious on both occasions. This series will be a tight one, and even though the bookies have Gen.G winning this comfortably, we don’t see it that way. We are going to have our money on the over 4.5 in the total maps market with GG Bet at $3.25.
Over 4.5 total maps
DRX vs EDWARD GAMING LoL BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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| Best Odds: | DRX $2.37 at GG Bet | EDward Gaming $1.53 at GG Bet |
| When: | October 23, 2022 | 17:00 EDT |
| Watch Live: | Lolesports, Twitch |
Coming out of the play-in tournament, DRX have been ultra-impressive considering there weren’t many people that expected them to get out of Group C, let alone finish in the first seed. After dominating the play-in tournament and finishing undefeated there, they came into the group stage of Worlds 2022 with an abundance of confidence and they played like so through their six games in Group C. There is no standout performer in terms of average KDA or high kills for DRX, but the whole roster plays on such a high level that you can’t afford to lose focus on any of the players on the DRX team. The consistency of DRX through their play-in campaign and into their group stage performance is what holds them in good stead for this matchup with the defending champions.
The defending League of Legends world champions, EDward Gaming, have looked anything but themselves since winning LoL Worlds 2021, finishing seventh-eighth in the 2022 LPL Spring split and third in the LPL Summer split. However, there have been some glimpses of their best form that took them all the way in this tournament just a year ago, but the consistency just isn’t there from this EDG roster, unlike their next opponents. If EDG turn up and play a high level of League of Legends, this series could be a very, very good one for the LPL representatives. There will be a fine line between them winning this series and losing it.
DRX and EDG are two teams that struggled to perform in their respective Spring and Summer splits, but these teams just seem to find another gear when it comes to competing in an international tournament. There isn’t much separating them and we think this series be going the distance, so we will be taking the overs in the total maps market.
Over 4.5 total maps
?A League of Legends commentator, Rita, translated the screenshot of the franchise’s post on Discord and revealed that the entire team had tested negative.? ?”Canyon and Daeaokdam get recovery, and the whole team is tested negative,” her post read.?
DK discord updates Canyon and Deokdam get recovery and the whole team is tested negative.
pic.twitter.com/4x4VbnjSPb
— Rita (@cutebchu) October 17, 2022
?Although the post revealed that the entire DWG KIA team, including their players and staff, had been cleared of COVID, Noh “Burdol” Tae-Yoon and Park “Bubbling” Jun-hyeong were not given any special mention. The substitute and the team’s coach tested positive for the virus on October 14.? ?
The team’s post at the time explained that the “upcoming games and schedules will be adjusted accordingly to the Worlds protocols and policies”. This meant the players would participate in the next few games in a remote, isolated venue according to Riot Games’ COVID-19 policies.? ?
Besides DWG KIA, last week was riddled with several COVID-19 announcements from teams participating in the 2022 League of Legends World Championship. EDward Gaming were the first to announce their players’ COVID-19 diagnosis, then DWG KIA and Gen.G followed suit a day before the group stage’s second phase of round-robin matches.?
On October 16, the entire lineup and coaching staff of Royal Never Give Up also tested positive for the virus.? ?Due to the number of teams and players infected with COVID-19, they had to participate in the group stage’s second round-robin remotely.? ?
Despite this, DWG KIA qualified for the tournament’s knockout stage after defeating G2 Esports and Evil Geniuses.? ?The Korean team also emerged as the victor in their first outing against JD Gaming. However, they lost a tiebreaker and finished second in Group B.? ?
The quarterfinal stage of the tournament will see eight teams play against each other in best-of-five matches, and only four teams will move on to the semifinals. This stage will kick off on Thursday, October 20, with Jingdong Gaming facing off against Rogue. ?
?DWG KIA will duke it out with LCK’s Gen.G on October 22. Coach Yang “Daeny” Dae-in’s team will be going into the game as $3.69 outsiders, with Gen.G pegged as $1.26 favorites on the leading LoL betting sites.?
DWG get the better of their Korean counterparts, they will advance to the semifinals and take on the winner between EDward Gaming and DRX. Those two teams will compete against each other on October 23, in the concluding match of the quarterfinal round.
]]>While Canyon will now have to play the rest of the tournament online, the Korean team confirmed via Twitter that the rest of the lineup had tested negative and, as such, would carry on as planned.
?”Kim ‘Canyon’ Gun-bu from DWG KIA has tested positive for COVID-19 during his stay for Worlds,” the tweet said.? ?
“The rest of the team members tested negative. Canyon will be participating in Worlds online.? ?
“We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for understanding. We will prioritize Canyon’s speedy recovery and make sure our performance at Worlds will not be shaken.”?
?Riot Games previously released a health policy that made provision for players who had tested positive but felt well enough to play. According to the policy, the player would be allowed to compete online in an isolated area separate to that of their teammates and other squads.? ?
In cases where the player is unwell enough to opt out of the competition, the affected team would be allowed to bring in a substitute. However, if the player managed to test negative before the start of their match, they would be allowed to compete in person with the rest of the squad.?
?DWG KIA’s announcement came four hours after EDward Gaming made a similar revelation. The Chinese team’s mid-laner, Lee “Scout” Ye-chan, tested positive for COVID after a second PCR test was carried out. He will join other gamers to play remotely while in isolation.?
?A recent post by the general manager of G2 Esports, Romain Bigeard, revealed that the last time players and staff at Worlds 2022 were tested for COVID-19 was on October 11.?
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