DWG KIA, commonly referred to as DAMWON KIA ( ko, 담원 기아) and formerly known as DAMWON Gaming (
abbr. DWG; ko, 담원 게이밍, links=no), is a South Korean professional
esports organization. Its ''
League of Legends
''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by '' Defense of the Ancients'', a custom map for ''Warcraft III'', ...
'' team competes in the
LCK
Lck (or lymphocyte-specific protein tyrosine kinase) is a 56 kDa protein that is found inside specialized cells of the immune system called lymphocytes. The Lck is a member of Src kinase family (SFK), it is important for the activation of the T ...
, the top-level league for the game in South Korea.
DWG 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 Suning may refer to:
* Suning.com, a Chinese retailer, originally corner Jiangsu Road and Ninghai Road, co-founded by Zhang Jindong, was known as Suning Appliance Co., Ltd. and Suning Commerce Group Co., Ltd.
* Suning Holdings Group, the fourth lar ...
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
Lck (or lymphocyte-specific protein tyrosine kinase) is a 56 kDa protein that is found inside specialized cells of the immune system called lymphocytes. The Lck is a member of Src kinase family (SFK), it is important for the activation of the T ...
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 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
T1 (previously known as SK Telecom T1 or SKT T1) is a South Korean esports organization operated by the T1 Entertainment & Sports, a joint venture between SK Telecom and Comcast Spectacor. At the end of 2003, SK Telecom took the StarCraft Te ...
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
Flamengo Esports is the esports department of traditional sports club Flamengo. It has a ''League of Legends'' team competing in the Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends (CBLoL), Brazil's top professional league for the game.
''League of ...
. 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 of ...
, North America's
Team Liquid
Team Liquid is a multi-regional professional esports organization based in the Netherlands that was founded in 2000. With the release of '' StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty'', Team Liquid signed their first professional players.
In 2012, Team Li ...
, and Taiwan's
ahq eSports Club
ahq eSports Club ( zh, t=ahq電子競技俱樂部) is a Taiwanese professional esports organization with teams competing in ''League of Legends'', ''Arena of Valor'', '' A.V.A'', and ''Heroes of the Storm''. Their ''League of Legends'' team wa ...
. The team once again finished top of their group, but were knocked out of the tournament by Europe's
G2 Esports
G2 Esports (G2) is a European esports organization headquartered in Berlin, Germany, with players competing in ''League of Legends'', ''Valorant'', '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'', '' Hearthstone'', ''Rocket League'', ''Rainbow Six Sieg ...
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 Suning may refer to:
* Suning.com, a Chinese retailer, originally corner Jiangsu Road and Ninghai Road, co-founded by Zhang Jindong, was known as Suning Appliance Co., Ltd. and Suning Commerce Group Co., Ltd.
* Suning Holdings Group, the fourth lar ...
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, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second lar ...
and would rebrand as DWG KIA prior to the
2021 LCK season.
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
Nongshim RedForce ( ko, 농심 레드포스) is a South Korean professional ''League of Legends'' team owned by food and beverage company Nongshim. The team's name and logo are a reference to Nongshim's popular instant noodle brand Shin Ramyun. ...
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 Esports ( ko, 젠지), previously known as KSV Esports, is a professional esports organization with headquarters in Santa Monica, Seoul, and Shanghai. According to Forbes, Gen.G is the sixth most valuable esports organization in the world ...
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.
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 whose '' League of Legends'' team competes in the League of Legends Pro League. It was established in May 2015. RNG won the 2016 LPL Spring Playoffs, 2018 LPL Spring Playoffs and 2018 ...
, 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 is a Spanish esports organisation owned by OverActive Media. Its main ''League of Legends'' team, which was rebranded from Splyce, competes in Europe's top-level league for the game, the LEC. Its secondary ''League of Legends'' team co ...
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 whose '' League of Legends'' team competes in the League of Legends Pro League. It was established in May 2015. RNG won the 2016 LPL Spring Playoffs, 2018 LPL Spring Playoffs and 2018 ...
, 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 whose '' League of Legends'' team competes in the League of Legends Pro League. It was established in May 2015. RNG won the 2016 LPL Spring Playoffs, 2018 LPL Spring Playoffs and 2018 ...
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 i ...
. 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 is a Spanish esports organisation owned by OverActive Media. Its main ''League of Legends'' team, which was rebranded from Splyce, competes in Europe's top-level league for the game, the LEC. Its secondary ''League of Legends'' team co ...
, 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
Nongshim RedForce ( ko, 농심 레드포스) is a South Korean professional ''League of Legends'' team owned by food and beverage company Nongshim. The team's name and logo are a reference to Nongshim's popular instant noodle brand Shin Ramyun. ...
, 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 int ...
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. Founded in 1999, the organization has fielded players in various fighting games, ''Call of Duty'', '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'', ''Dota 2'', '' Fortn ...
and
G2 Esports
G2 Esports (G2) is a European esports organization headquartered in Berlin, Germany, with players competing in ''League of Legends'', ''Valorant'', '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'', '' Hearthstone'', ''Rocket League'', ''Rainbow Six Sieg ...
, before losing their quarter finals match against fellow Korean team
Gen.G
Gen.G Esports ( ko, 젠지), previously known as KSV Esports, is a professional esports organization with headquarters in Santa Monica, Seoul, and Shanghai. According to Forbes, Gen.G is the sixth most valuable esports organization in the world ...
.
Rosters
League of Legends
Tournament results
League of Legends Challengers
Rainbow Six Siege
Valorant
References
External links
*
{{League of Legends Champions Korea
Esports teams based in South Korea
League of Legends Champions Korea teams