DAMWON Gaming secured the Summoner's Cup this weekend after a commanding 3-1 victory over Suning in the 2020 League of Legends World Championship. This win marks the return of the world championship title to South Korea after two years. National pride isn't the only factor in this win as the Summoner's Cup holds more significance to the long-time struggling region.
SK Telecom T1's first world championship win in 2013 cemented the LCK as the game's strongest region. This started a Korean age of supremacy in international League of Legends tournaments from 2013 to 2017. Fans everywhere gravitated towards Lee ‘Faker' San-hyeok as the best League of Legends player owing to his three world championships. Unfortunately, the region as a whole struggled however in the past years owing to dismal international performance. Samsung Galaxy failed to defend its title in 2018. SKT failed to make a triumphant return to the grand finals stage. The rest of the teams of the regions also found no success in international tournaments during this period.
The teams from China rose to the top during this Korean dry spell. Invictus Gaming won the first world championship title for China in 2018. FunPlus Phoenix followed with the region's second consecutive title just last year. A Chinese team was expected to take home the third consecutive title this year especially considering that the tournament was held in China.
It became easy to dismiss an entire region's efforts with many fans looking to Faker to singlehandedly carry the LCK. SKT's failure to secure their fourth world championship title only exacerbated the downfall of the South Korean teams. Things grew even grimmer when they failed to secure a spot for Worlds 2020. There was hope for the region with the three teams that actually qualified for Worlds. Surprisingly, all of the LCK fans' hopes would be pinned on a team that had only entered the league in the 2019 spring season.
DAMWON entered the tournament as the LCK's first seed and their greatest hope of a title win. The pressure was on for the young LCK team to win the title with a handful of rookies on their roster. It's been a common occurrence in LOL Esports where teams that performed well locally deflated in international tournaments. DAMWON had a stellar Summer Season in the LCK, but the team has never competed internationally. Yet despite their lack of experience in international tournaments, the young team would challenge for the Summoner's Cup. Their path mirrors the championship route taken by SKT when they won their first world title in 2013. DAMWON's win in Shanghai also calls back to the LCK's last world championship which was also won in China.
DAMWON's win this year holds more meaning for the fans in South Korea and the LCK in general. It's fitting that the first decade of competitive League of Legends will be closed out with a win from the LCK. There may have been a rough patch in these past years, but the LCK finishes strong with DAMWON at the helm. The fledgling world champions may not have the distinction of multiple titles under their belt, but they will forever be remembered as the team who revived the LCK.
The return of the Summoner's Cup to the LCK has essentially reaffirmed the region's position as the world's best region. It's difficult to argue with that claiming considering the LCK now holds five world championship titles. We can only expect good things to happen from here on out for the LCK in future seasons. The Summoner's Cup acts as a beacon for all hopeful LCK players hoping to attain their own world championship title. This was especially evident in the overall improvement of the Chinese region following their first title win in 2018.
It can also serve as inspiration or fuel for former world champions to challenge for the peak of League of Legends once more. We have yet to see a former world championship reclaim the title after an extended absence from the grand finals stage. Faker is still the undisputed best player in the world. The question stands if he can still challenge for a fourth title, or if a new player will emerge and take his place as the game's most iconic player.
The future is bright for the newer players in the league. DAMWON's victory is the signal of the beginning for the next batch of League of Legends stars. It will be a fresh new start for the 11th season of League of Legends in 2021. All eyes will be on the LCK teams as we enter into a new decade.
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