LOL's greatest underdog team makes a remarkable comeback

Because the LCK league does not take a long break for the Spring Festival, it officially resumed after a short holiday. In the first round of the LCK playoff losers bracket, the DNS team, which was not favored at the beginning of the season, eliminated the former world champion DRX team with a 3-1 score, directly creating a thrilling underdog comeback narrative. It’s worth noting that DNS was widely regarded as the weakest team in the LCK last year, even setting the league’s “most embarrassing record.” (With the LCK's format change last year combining results from the second and third splits, DNS ended up with 2 wins and 22 losses, becoming the team with the worst record in LCK history.)

Even though DNS strengthened their roster this year’s transfer window by acquiring KT’s runner-up duo from last season, most LCK fans remained skeptical. After all, in the LCK regular season, DNS was repeatedly crushed by top-tier teams, finishing with only 1 win and 4 losses. Without favorable group draws, DNS might not have even qualified for the LCK qualifiers. (The new season divides all teams into two groups, with the highest-scoring group members advancing directly.)

However, what nobody expected happened: despite widespread doubt, DNS first knocked out the world runner-up KT team in the qualifiers, then defeated NS, a team featuring world champion mid-laner Scout and champion support Lehends. These two victories completely erased the notion that DNS advanced by luck. So far, DNS has surpassed their historical achievements, and their next opponent will be DK. (Do you think DNS can pull off another miracle?)

LPL’s reborn mid-laner humiliates his former LCK teammates

As the LCK playoffs began, many LPL commentators followed the matches through secondary streams. During this BO5, LPL caster Miller repeatedly criticized DRX’s mid-laner Ucal. Miller believed that DRX’s roster should have been stronger than DNS on paper, and the loss was mainly due to Ucal’s performance. “If he had just played safe and held his lane, DRX would have had a great chance to win,” Miller said. Ucal made several baffling mistakes, giving away kills and causing DRX to lose even when holding an advantage.

Especially in the fourth game, Ucal’s choice of Twisted Fate confused viewers. At that time, DRX’s AD carry was farming excellently, and in team fights, Twisted Fate only needed to use Yellow Card to control the enemy frontline to help secure victory. However, Ucal repeatedly ulted to the enemy backline, breaking DRX’s formation and ruining their damage output setup. Many viewers joked, “No wonder LPL teams didn’t keep Ucal later; his performance was truly shocking.” — Ucal once played for LPL’s TT team, which struggled and even ranked last in the league.

Besides DRX’s mid-laner underperforming, DNS’s jungler Pyosik also had an outstanding showing in this match. Many fans joked after the game that DNS might have a real shot at winning the World Championship this year. After all, when DRX won the Worlds, many called it a “dark horse upset,” and this year’s external conditions resemble that storyline. (DNS is a blue three-letter team, playing in this year’s Worlds, rumors say Messi and Ronaldo retired, and the Worlds will be held in the US.)