Just about everyone had written off EDward Gaming (EDG) as they geared up to challenge the defending champions Damwon Gaming (DWG) for the 2021 World Championship title.
After all, DWG looked near unstoppable. They had just about cruised through the entire tournament, smashing their group, 6-0, and outclassing an intimidating Faker-led LCK squad, T1. Meanwhile, EDG endured five-game series against RNG and Gen.G in the Worlds quarters and semis. In fact, 2021 marked the first time that EDG had ever reached the Worlds finals.
But in the end, EDG pulled out a sensational victory over the reigning titleholders DWG, showing not only why they deserved to be in the Worlds finals but also why they deserved the coveted Summoner's Cup. Here's how they did it.
Worlds Finals: DWG 2-3 EDG
EDG jump out to early lead
Unexpectedly, the LPL side struck first, handing the defending champions a shocking opening game defeat. Zhao “JieJie” Li-Jie put up a dominant performance on Jarvan. He went 4/1/12 with 100% kill participation and over 300 damage per minute. Lee “Scout” Ye-chan grabbed first blood on Ryze as EDG's mid-jungle duo roamed down and dove DWG's bot lane seven minutes into the game. By getting both Scout and Park “Viper” Do-hyeon early leads against their lane counterparts, JieJie crucially helped put Viper's Jhin in a position to be much more effective than the opposing Ziggs.
On the other side of the coin, picking menacing but volatile solo laners in LeBlanc for Heo “ShowMaker” Su and Yasuo for Kim “Khan” Dong-ha backfired on Damwon. While the LCK top laner has been having a spectacular season, this game was just not in his grasp to begin with, as Khan tumbled to an 0/4 scoreline by the end of it and could do little to change his team's fate.
ShowMaker himself didn't commit too many errors, but as Scout's Ryze pick is a push-and-roam style, the EDG mid scraped out advantages elsewhere on the map. By that point, the Ryze was just more effective in the teamfights, combined with the already strong damage threats in Jhin and Graves. Without getting ahead, the LeBlanc couldn't find the openings to burst down key targets. Around the baron, ShowMaker hid in the brush to try and pick off an opponent, only for EDG to ace Damwon.
The LPL side came out with a statement opening game victory over the titleholders, starting off the finals series with a 1-0 advantage.
DWG strike back, push series to match point
Thinking game one was a fluke, DWG took the next two games without much drama. In the second game of the series, the LCK side came out hunting for revenge, ending with 22 kills to EDG's three. As Scout picked away ShowMaker's LeBlanc, the LPL mid laner found himself shut down by the opponent's Malzahar pick.
(Now, long-time League fans, if this seems familiar, back when kkOma was still T1's coach, Faker selected his prized LeBlanc in the Mid-season Invitational, but lost out to an excellent Malzahar pick. This time, DWG coach kkOma was on the Malzahar side of the fight.)
EDG's mid-jungle duo both went 0/5 that game, while ShowMaker put up a massive 5/1/10 performance alongside Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu's 7/0/8 Qiyana. Even as EDG picked mobile champions in LeBlanc, Irelia, and Kai'sa, they couldn't escape the CC from Damwon's Malzahar, Qiyana, and Leona picks—and even the Jhin roots.
In game three, DWG again took the win in another bloodbath, taking full objective control. They secured four drakes and a baron and left EDG with little to do except find a couple of kills. Everything seemed to live or die by the mid-jungle duo, as ShowMaker again put up an excellent performance on Sylas, going 5/1/4, while JieJie and Scout suffered four deaths each.
EDG pull out all the stops to force do-or-die
As Damwon went to match point, fans were already expecting them to secure the championship. But backs against the wall—again—EDG would not raise the white flag. Not today, not this Worlds campaign.
Unlike the previous two games, game four was not a bloodbath at all, with there being only nine kills total. But it still turned out to be a long and hard-fought victory. The two teams went back and forth, poking and chunking out each other's health bars to gain some semblance of control over the map. In part, it was thanks to the supports, with Nami for Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee and Lulu for Tian “Meiko” Ye.
EDG got the objective control this time, quite a feat against the LCK side, as they stacked up dragons. Despite good Orianna ults, ShowMaker couldn't turn the game in his team's favor, and Khan had a tough outing on Gwen. Meanwhile, JieJie came out with the perfectly timed smites today. (He must've practiced it after Gen.G's Clid had just about won every 50-50 in their semis matchup). By stealing away the baron for EDG, he pushed the series to a do-or-die game five.
EDG make the invincible DWG bleed
Game five returned to the messy bloodbath we all love to see, as the pressure piled on and both sides turned up the heat. But in the end, EDG came out with more than double the kills of Damwon. The LPL side again took control of the dragons, stacking them to claim soul and Elder.
I said the series lived or died by the mid-jungle duo, and it was definitely one of the decisive factors here. Canyon could do very little on Trundle. It really just isn't an enabling pick, not when you want to get your solo lanes ahead very early. Especially against Scout's Zoe, as he had already shown in the semis what he could do on the champion, landing so many bubbles to carry EDG to a game five in that series as well. Scout went 5/1/8 in this game and was duly recognized as MVP for the finals series.
Even though DWG picked damage threats in Syndra and Graves, without the means to really smash their opponents and translate their strength into objectives, they ended up looking quite ineffective. In contrast, EDG top laner Li “Flandre” Xuan-Jun got Kennen—who has proven a monstrous pick this entire tournament—and just looked way more useful with his ult. (Khan should know, after all it was his Slicing Maelstrom that pulled Damwon back into the game when he fell behind 0/3 and the team was down 7k gold against MAD Lions in the quarters).
The LPL bot lane also thrived. Viper ended with a 7/1/7 KDA on Aphelios, while Meiko put up a phenomenal performance on Rakan, finding key engages with his ult and knockups to swing fights in EDG's favor. In the breathtaking final fight in Damwon's base, Rakan unleashed the Quickness to stun up ShowMaker. Even when he went golden, there was just too much CC and follow-up on EDG's side, as Kennen also piled in to delete the Orianna and Leona. Finally, finally—EDG did what no other team could this tournament, making Damwon bleed and surrender the crown.
Everyone thought that with three Korean teams in the semifinals, the LCK was showing that it had returned to being the dominant threat it ever was. But in the end, the LPL team, always on the brink of elimination in each series, fought tooth and nail and came up in the clutch. Mind you, EDG pulled it off with a substitute 18-year-old jungler in JieJie and against the world's best jungler in Canyon and an on-form ShowMaker and Khan.
Against all odds, but definitely in well-deserved fashion, EDG dethroned DWG and lifted the Summoner's Cup for the first time ever in the org's history. Khan bids farewell to the League of Legends pro scene without a Worlds title to his name, but exits as a legendary icon in his own right. Meanwhile, Meiko, after six grueling years on EDG, finally knows what it's like to be a World Champion.
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