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Riot Games has unveiled in-game models for DAMWON Gaming’s World Championship skin line. The short video showing the champions’ attack and recall animations surfaced on Wednesday on League of Legends’ official Twitter page.
DWG KIA’s World Championship Skins
DAMWON Gaming’s (now DWG KIA) title-winning run at the 2020 League of Legends World Championship will be immortalized with the upcoming release of LoL Worlds skin line. As a part of the tradition, the skins are designed to use the team’s colors and often incorporate the players’ personalities with unique animations.
The DWG KIA skins were first announced on Saturday, April 3, when Riot Games revealed the splash art for Kennen, Nidalee, Twisted Fate, Jhin, and Leona – as chosen by the players. All champions are wearing blue and white robes with slight hints of silver – akin to the Championship skin line.
Like any year before, all champions’ recall animation displays the player’s signature, which appears in gold underneath the character, making it stand out from other skins and truly unique. In addition to the players’ signature, the recall animations show characters celebrating the win in their own way while displaying DWG KIA’s old logo.
This will also be the first time Twisted Fate, Kennen, Leona, and Nidalee will receive their own LoL Worlds skins. Jhin, meanwhile, already has a Worlds skin from 2016, when SK Telecom T1’s ADC Bae “Bang” Jun-sik picked the “Virtuoso” as his champion.
Having received his second Worlds skin, Jhin joins Thresh, Ezreal, Rakan, Vayne, and Jarvan IV as one of six champions with multiple Worlds skins.
DWG KIA’s continuous dominance
DWG KIA have established themselves as the most successful LoL esports team in 2020 with their title-winning run at the LoL Worlds, but the Koreans have since not shown any signs of stopping.
Despite replacing their top laner Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon with Kim “Khan” Dong-ha ahead of the 2021 season, DWG KIA showed little to no struggle in their domestic competition. After claiming the LoL Champions Korea (LCK) Spring regular-season title with a near-perfect 16-2 record in March, DWG KIA went on to claim their second consecutive LCK title with two 3-0 sweeps of Hanwha Life Esports and Gen.G in the playoffs.
Although DWG KIA failed to look as dominant as in LCK 2020 Summer, they still ended the split as by far the strongest Korean team, akin to SK Telecom T1 in 2015-2017.
By winning the regular season, DWG KIA have received an invite to the Mid-Season Invitational, where they’ll have a shot at a second international tournament title in the organization’s history.
Can DWG KIA win the MSI?
The Mid-Season Invitational is an LoL esports tournament that is annually held between the first and second splits of all regions. It was first introduced in 2015 as the only international tournament on the calendar – besides Worlds – and was held every year since, except for in 2020, when it got canceled due to COVID-19.
The 2021 MSI will kick off on Thursday, May 6, in Reykjavík, Iceland, and it will feature only the champions of each competitive region. This year’s lineup has yet to be completed, with six out of 12 regions yet to announce their champions.
Regardless, the field is already shaping up to be one of the most competitive in years. That said, there is a fairly large gap between the top two regions and the rest.
2021 MSI Outright Betting Odds – Region of Winner
Odds courtesy of BetOnline Sportsbook:
- LCK +110 (DWG KIA)
- LPL +120 (TBA)
- LEC +700 (MAD Lions)
- LCS +1100 (Cloud9)
- Rest of the World +5000 (Infinity Esports, DetonatioN FocusMe, Pentanet.GG, TBA)
As the esports bookmakers suggest, there is a huge gap between the LoL Champions Korea (LCK) and LoL Pro League (LPL) representatives and the rest. That is not shocking, even though the LPL have yet to crown their champions.
As the sole Korean representatives, DWG KIA will carry the LCK flag to Iceland, where they’re expected to succeed, but it remains to be seen how well they will fare against the LPL champions.
Two potential LPL representatives in Iceland will be either the up-and-coming Royal Never Give Up and the 2018 world champions FunPlus Phoenix, neither of which have yet to face the current iteration of DWG KIA.
The final 2021 MSI lineup will be revealed on Sunday, April 18, after the remaining six regions crown their champions; however, we don’t expect the esports bookmakers to change their odds by much.
Regardless of which teams LPL, PCS, VCS, LCL, TCL, and CBLOL send to Iceland, it’s fair to say DWG KIA will retain the tag as the favorites to win it all.