As the #4 seed of South Korea and a play-in team, DRX made it to the semi-finals, defeating the Worlds 2021 champions. Although they finished their group in the first place, DRX was still considered one of the weakest teams in the quarter-finals. So, how did DRX make it here and become the opponent of Gen.G?
DRX was a wildcard since LCK 2022 Summer Season. They weren’t one of the favourites to make it to Worlds after their regular season performance but Deft and Zeka led the team to victory in the gauntlet and they now outlived DWG KIA, even though they had a lucky draw. It’s an incredible story for sure.
DRX in LCK
While they were the fourth-best team in the LCK for many, DRX’s performance fell significantly after the middle of the season, arguably because of the meta shift that favoured ADC-focused teams like Prince’s Liiv SANDBOX. Deft wasn’t as strong as these players anymore and DRX wasn’t prepared for this as a team.
However, the team managed to get back up during the gauntlet, outperforming kt Rolster and Liiv SANDBOX and made it to Worlds. They would start from the play-in stage which is still easy for a Korean team, but the expectations were that DRX to be eliminated in the group stage.
Worlds 2022 starts well
With the Worlds 2022 meta allowing teams to create game plans other than “feed Zeri to win”, DRX managed to eclipse MSI 2022 champions Royal Never Give Up in their play-in group and made it to the main event with a strong showing. While they were expected to fail in the main event, they looked so strong that everyone changed their mind, especially because of Zeka’s superb performance.
Although Rogue’s first week performance stopped their tempo a little bit, DRX managed to secure the first place of their group in the second week, eliminating LPL #2 Top Esports and Deft’s miracle run continued. This year will probably be his last due to his military duties, and an amazing last dance story was in the making.
Worlds 2022 quarter-final draw didn’t treat DRX well, they would face Worlds 2021 champions EDward Gaming, considered a one-sided series by many. Although EDG started with a 2-0 advantage, Deft and Zeka always knew they had what it takes to defeat this strong opponent. Deft was one auto attack away from stealing the second game, and he didn’t even let that affect his morale.
Pulling the second reverse sweep in the history of Worlds, DRX managed to turn it around after such an unfortunate event. Zeka crushed one of the best mid laners in the world, Scout, Deft became a sign of mental fortitude for the team, and the rest of the players followed them. Kingen, BeryL and Pyosik made very few mistakes to help their team get to the semi-finals, and DRX wrote a fantastic story.
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Best performing players from DRX
Right now, Zeka is considered the best-performing mid-laner in Worlds 2022, as Chovy is not having the most perfect tournament after a strong LCK performance this season. With 5.94 KDA and 65.6% kill participation, he is actively the number one reason why DRX is here at the semi-finals.
Deft’s importance cannot be overstated. The veteran ADC has managed to outperform other ADCs like Viper, deokdam, Ruler and Comp so far. His ability to play many champions affected DRX’s drafts a lot. He played 7 different champions in 12 games and impacted his team’s chances just like stronger-looking bot laners like Gumayusi and Ruler did.
