There is no doubt that Dplus KIA has always been in the fight to be one of the best teams in the LCK since they moved up to the top tier in 2019. In this 2023 season, this has been no exception, as the team punched their ticket to the upcoming Worlds 2023.
The season has been complicated for the Dplus KIA boys. In the Summer Split 2023, DK finished in fifth place in the table, and although they advanced to the playoffs, they could not advance beyond the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals.
However, the team secured their qualification to the LCK Regional Finals 2023, beating the reigning Worlds 2022 champions DRX 3-0 and, most recently, Hanwha Life Esports 3-1. As a result, they earned the LCK’s final ticket to Worlds 2023.
Dplus KIA sets Worlds qualification record
As we mentioned, Dplus KIA’s road to the LCK Regional Finals 2023 started against DRX, the reigning Worlds 2022 season champions. DK showed impressive play in this match and crushed DRX 3-0.
Then, in the deciding series against HLE, they also showed total determination, as they were not the favorites to win. However, the team pulled off a solid 3-1 victory in an even series, as all games lasted more than 30 minutes.
[𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏]
“𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲”
Dplus KIA가 LCK 소속 팀 최초 Worlds 5연속 5연속 진출을 이루어 냅니다 냅니다!
우리의 여름이 더욱 뜨겁게 타오를 썔욱 있도록 끝까지 함께해 주신 모든 팬분들께, 진심으로 감사드립니다.
We’ve… pic.twitter. com/OBaUtsA0R6
— Dplus KIA (@DplusKIA) August 26, 2023
As a result, Dplus KIA secured their ticket to Worlds 2023, and, in addition, they set a Worlds qualification record. Since the team has been in the top tier of the LCK, i.e., since 2019, they have always qualified for the most important tournament of the season. In addition, we also have to highlight two of their players, Heo “ShowMaker” Su and Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu, are in the team since the 2019 season.
Deft qualifies for the sixth time to the Worlds
On the other hand, one of the reigning world champions, Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu, earned his sixth qualification for the World in his entire professional career. Let’s remember that Deft won Worlds 2022 with DRX, so he will try to repeat the victory, but this time with another team. In addition, Deft and Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon are the only players from the former DRX roster who won the Worlds last season and will play in the 2023 edition.
Speaking of records, we can also say that Deft is setting one in the LoL competitive scene, as all six of the 26-year-old Korean’s Worlds appearances have been with six different teams. He previously played with EDward Gaming, Samsung Blue, KT Rolster, DRX, and HLE.
Header: Dplus KIA