Dplus KIA

Dplus KIA

Short name	DK
Game	League of Legends Fortnite Battle Royale PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Rainbow Six Siege Valorant
Founded	28 May 2017 (2017-05-28)
League	LCK
Location	South Korea
CEO	Lee Yu-yeong
Championships	1× World Championship (2020) 3× LCK (Summer 2020, Spring 2021, Summer 2021)
Partners	Kia Adidas Logitech Xenics Hanatour Zinus
Website	dpluskia.gg

Dplus KIA (DK), formerly known as DWG KIA and DAMWON Gaming (abbr. DWG), is a South Korean professional esports organization. Its League of Legends team competes in the LCK, the top-level league for the game in South Korea.

Dplus KIA won their first LCK title on 5 September 2020 after defeating DRX in the 2020 LCK summer finals. ^{[1] [2] [3]} 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 in the grand finals. ^[4]

History

2017

DAMWON Gaming logo
(2017–2020)

DAMWON Gaming was formed on 28 May 2017 by computer manufacturer Damwon after it acquired the Challengers Korea team Mirage Gaming. ^[5] 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 after defeating Team BattleComics in the first qualifying match of the 2019 spring promotion tournament. ^[6]

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 players competing in 2019 LCK Spring

DAMWON Gaming finished fifth in the spring regular season and fourth in playoffs after losing the third-place match to Kingzone DragonX. 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. ^[7]

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 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. ^[8] This was the first time where a team qualified for both the LCK and Worlds in the same year. ^[9]

DAMWON Gaming was drafted into Group D of the play-in stage, along with Turkish team Royal Youth and Brazilian team Flamengo Esports. The team finished top of their group undefeated, ^[10] 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, North America's Team Liquid, and Taiwan's ahq eSports Club. The team once again finished top of their group, ^[11] but were knocked out of the tournament by Europe's G2 Esports in the quarterfinals. ^[12]

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. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

On 31 October, DAMWON Gaming defeated Suning 3–1 in the 2020 World Championship finals to become world champions. ^[4]

DAMWON Gaming announced in late December that it had partnered with Kia Motors and would rebrand as DWG KIA prior to the 2021 LCK season. ^[13]

2021

DWG KIA logo
(2021–2022)

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. ^{[14] [15]} Nonetheless, they won the 2020 KeSPA Cup on 2 January 2021, sweeping Nongshim RedForce 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 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. ^[16]

Damwon Kia finished their group stage with a 5–1 record with one loss against NA's Cloud9 in the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational group stage. They headed into the Rumble Stage, dropping 2 games to China's Royal Never Give Up, ending with a 8–2 record. This gave them the 1st seed heading into the playoffs and they chose Europe's MAD Lions 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, 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 their second MSI title. ^[17]

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. ^[18] 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, 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. ^[19] In the final match, they faced China's Edward Gaming, who defeated them in a very close 3–2 series. ^{[20] [21]}

2022

DWG KIA at 2022 Worlds Media Day

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, 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.^{[ citation needed ]}

In April 2022, DWG KIA announced the return of Nuguri, while Hoya departed from the active roster a month later. ^[22] The team put up a similar performance to Spring, finishing 4th following a loss against T1. ^[23] 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 by beating Liiv SANDBOX. ^[24] They finished second in their group, eliminating Evil Geniuses and G2 Esports, before losing their quarter finals match against fellow Korean team Gen.G. ^[25]

Rosters

League of Legends

Dplus KIA League of Legends roster
Players	Coaches
Role Handle Name Nationality Top Kingen Hwang Seong-hoon South Korea Jungle Lucid Choi Yong-hyeok South Korea Mid ShowMaker Heo Su South Korea Bot Aiming Kim Ha-ram South Korea Support Kellin Kim Hyeong-gyu South Korea	Head coach Lee "Zefa" Jaemin Assistant coach(es) Park "Bubbling" Jun-hyeong Kim "Ssong" Sang-soo
Legend: (I) Inactive (S) Suspended Substitute Injury / Illness	Roster updated 29 February 2024.

Tournament results

Placement	Event	Final result (W–L)
5th	2017 CK Summer Split	7–7
9th–12th	2017 KeSPA Cup	0–2 (against Jin Air Green Wings)
2nd	2018 CK Spring Split	11–3
3rd	2018 CK Spring Playoffs	1–3 (against Ever8 Winners)
1st	2018 CK Summer Split	13–1
Qualified	2019 LCK Spring Promotion	3–1 (against Team BattleComics)
3rd–4th	2018 KeSPA Cup	0–3 (against Griffin)
5th	2019 LCK Spring Split	11–7
4th	2019 LCK Spring Playoffs	0–3 (against Kingzone DragonX)
1st	Rift Rivals 2019 LCK-LPL-LMS-VCS	3–1 (against LPL)
2nd	2019 LCK Summer Split	13–5
3rd	2019 LCK Summer Playoffs	0–3 (against SKT T1)
1st	2019 LCK Regional Finals	12–4
5th–8th	2019 World Championship	1–3 (against G2 Esports)
5th–8th	2019 KeSPA Cup	0–2 (against DRX)
5th	2020 LCK Spring Split	9–9
4th	2020 LCK Spring Playoffs	2–3 (against DRX)
5th–6th	2020 Mid-Season Cup	1–2 (group stage)
1st	2020 LCK Summer Split	16–2
1st	2020 LCK Summer Playoffs	3–0 (against DRX)
1st	2020 World Championship	3–1 (against Suning)
1st	2020 KeSPA Cup ULSAN	3–0 (against Nongshim RedForce)
1st	2021 LCK Spring Split	16–2
1st	2021 LCK Spring Playoffs	3–0 (against Gen.G)
2nd	2021 Mid-Season Invitational	2–3 (against Royal Never Give Up)
1st	2021 LCK Summer Split	12–6
1st	2021 LCK Summer Playoffs	3–1 (against T1)
2nd	2021 World Championship	2–3 (against Edward Gaming)
3rd	2022 LCK Spring Split	11–7
3rd–4th	2022 LCK Spring Playoffs	2–3 (against Gen.G)
4th	2022 LCK Summer Split	10–8
4th	2022 LCK Summer Playoffs	2–3 (against T1)
1st	2019 LCK Regional Finals	3–1 (against Liiv SANDBOX)
5th–8th	2022 World Championship	2–3 (against Gen.G)

League of Legends Challengers

DWG KIA Challengers League of Legends roster
Players	Coaches
Role Handle Name Nationality Top Thanatos Park Seung-gyu South Korea Jungle Lucid Choi Yong-hyeok South Korea Mid Pullbae Jeong Ji-hoon South Korea Bot Rahel Cho Min-seong South Korea Support Junwon Min Jun-won South Korea Support Bible Yoon Seol South Korea	Head coach Vacant
Legend: (I) Inactive (S) Suspended Substitute Injury / Illness	Roster updated 15 August 2022.

Rainbow Six Siege

DWG KIA Rainbow Six Siege roster
Players	Coaches
Handle Name Nationality CATsang Heo Se-woong South Korea yass Yoo Sang-hoon South Korea coted Jo Sung-joon South Korea RIN Jang Byeong-uk South Korea Woogiman Park Jin-wook South Korea	Head coach Jang "HoundBird" Gwon-jae Assistant coach(es) Park "PJH" Jae-hyun
Legend: (I) Inactive (S) Suspended Substitute Injury / Illness	Latest roster transaction: May 31, 2022.

Valorant

DWG KIA Valorant roster
Players	Coaches
Handle Name Nationality Esperanza Jeong Jin-cheol South Korea exy Park Geun-cheol South Korea allow Park Sang-wook South Korea Lakia Kim Jong-min South Korea Estrella Park Gun South Korea Wenty Yang Geon-mo South Korea	Head coach Kang "solo" Keun-chul Assistant coach(es) Jung "peri" Bum-ki
Legend: (I) Inactive (S) Suspended Substitute Injury / Illness	Latest roster transaction: March 15, 2023.

References

1. Kay, Megan (5 September 2020). "Damwon Gaming crowned LCK champions, secure first seed at Worlds 2020". Dot Esports. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
2. Moncav, Melany (5 September 2020). "DAMWON Gaming takes four spots on LCK All-Pro team". WIN.gg. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
3. Stubbs, Mike (5 September 2020). "Damwon Gaming Win The LCK Summer Split, Will Be Top Seed At Worlds". Forbes. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
4. Erzberger, Tyler (31 October 2020). "DAMWON Gaming win 2020 League of Legends World Championship". ESPN. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
5. Kang, Ashley (20 September 2018). "Welcome Damwon Gaming to LCK 2019". Korizon. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
6. Abbas, Malcolm (20 September 2018). "DAMWON Gaming qualify for the LCK 2019 Spring Split". Dot Esports. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
7. Heath, Jerome (16 December 2019). "Flame rejoins DAMWON Gaming as the team's top laner". Dot Esports. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
8. Kim, Kevin (7 September 2019). "DAMWON Gaming qualifies to Worlds, Nuclear wants to beat Fnatic". Korizon. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
9. Kwon, Daniel (7 September 2019). "League of Legends: DAMWON Gaming Makes History by Becoming the First Team to Qualify into LCK and Worlds in the Same Year". InvenGlobal. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
10. Geracie, Nick (5 October 2019). "League of Legends: [Worlds 2019] Play-In: DAMWON Gaming qualifies for Knockout Stage". InvenGlobal. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
11. "DAMWON Gaming secure 1st seed in Group D, iG and Team Liquid to fight for 2nd". VPEsports. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
12. "Worlds 2019 Knockout Stage: G2 Esports defeat Damwon Gaming 3-1". ONE Esports. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
13. Mukherjee, Sarjyo (22 December 2020). "DAMWON Gaming partners with KIA Motors". TalkEsport. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
14. "Official: Khan joins DAMWON Gaming, Chasy to join their academy roster". Inven Global. 26 November 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
15. "Nuguri officially joins FunPlus Phoenix for 2021 season". Dot Esports. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
16. "DWG Kia stomps Gen.G to win LCK Spring, heads to MSI". The Korea Herald. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
17. "Royal Never Give Up takes down DWG KIA to win MSI 2021". Upcomer. 23 May 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
18. "A dynasty is born as DWG KIA win third straight LCK finals". Korea JoongAng Daily. 30 August 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
19. "Edward Gaming head to Worlds Final, but T1 head home". Red Bull. 2 November 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
20. "Edward Gaming beat DWG KIA to win Worlds 2021 title". Upcomer. 6 November 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
21. "They did it! Edward Gaming are the new League of Legends world champions". Red Bull. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
22. "DWG KIA officially announce the return of former top laner, Nuguri". Inven Global. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
23. Cowley, Ric (22 August 2022). "T1 earn a LCK 2022 Summer Playoffs Final spot". Red Bull. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
24. Mahato, Ashish (1 September 2022). "DWG KIA dominate SANDBOX to secure LCK's third seed at Worlds 2022". Dot Esports. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
25. Bernardo, Anna (24 October 2022). "Gen.G outlast DWG KIA 3-2 to make it to semifinals". Yahoo News. Retrieved 24 October 2022.

External links

• Official website

Awards and achievements
Preceded by FunPlus Phoenix	League of Legends World Championship winner 2020 With: Nuguri, Canyon, Showmaker, Ghost, BeryL and Zefa (coach)	Succeeded by Edward Gaming
Preceded by T1	League of Legends Champions Korea winner (2 titles) 2020 Summer – 2021 Summer	Succeeded by T1