The moment DRX defeated T1 3-2 in the Worlds 2022 grand final (Worlds 2022 photos by Jakub ‘Atroix’ Szmyt of Greyscale)
In what was a remarkable all-Korean League of Legends grand final, packed full of storylines, it was DRX who would end up winning Worlds 2022 after beating T1.
Ahead of the Worlds 2022 final, Faker spoke to Esports News UK about his history with Deft.
And it was Deft who finally overtook his former classmate Faker as his ‘last dance’ with talk of him due to retire depending on how he did at Worlds, DRX pulled off their incredible run all the way from the play-ins, making history, and we had five games full of crazy objective steals and close teamfights that made for an exciting grand final.
Esports Charts also reported a peak viewership of 5m in the Worlds 2022 final, and average viewers of almost 1m across the tournament.
But what did the players and coaches have to say in the press conference after the finals? We’ve transcribed a few of the translations of answers to the English speaking media’s questions, with broadcast production specialist Jakub ‘Atroix’ Szmyt and host and caster Ravish Khanna attending the finals for Esports News UK.
You can also check out our mega Worlds 2022 photo gallery by Jakub here.
‘We’re really proud of ourselves’ – DRX on winning Worlds 2022
First up, the man of the moment, DRX bot-laner Deft, said of fan support: “We kind of already experienced this magical feeling [of the fans cheering and getting behind us] in the semi-finals, after losing game one and after winning game two, we took our headsets off and I could feel the atmosphere completely change. They were all behind us, they were supporting us.
“So I felt that after game two [in the final] and heading into game five, we could feel that we had way more fans supporting us.
“We started our Worlds run from Mexico and we were not expecting to see our fans [out there], we were questioning whether we’d have any fans out there. It turned out we had a lot of fans supporting us, so we were absolutely able to have a good start out there. The more we played, the more fans we gained, so we were also really proud of ourselves because we usually didn’t have many fans.”
All the DRX players also revealed which Worlds 2022 skins they’d like:
- Kingen: Aatrox
- Pyosik: Kindred
- Zeka: Akali
- Deft: Caitlyn
- Beryl: Ashe (but he also said he’s unsure “as she has so many skins”)
“We kind of already experienced this magical feeling [of the fans cheering and getting behind us] in the semi-finals, after losing game one and after winning game two, we took our headsets off and I could feel the atmosphere completely change. They were all behind us, they were supporting us.”
Deft, DRX
DRX top-laner Kingen added regarding his mindset: “Prior to Worlds, I was the person pretending to have a lot of confidence when I didn’t, actually, but after playing so many matches here at Worlds, I realised I’m slowly defining myself as a player.
“After going through all the hardships at Worlds, I realised it’s not about fighting against each top laner, it’s more a battle against myself. I’m a top-laner that can lose to anyone, but at the same time, I can beat anyone. So it’s all about my mindset, I think it’s a motto, fate and the direction of my life has impacted positively on my performance. It was also reflected through my performance [in the finals].”
DRX jungler Pyosik on how he handled his objectives getting stolen by T1: “Throughout the series in general, the objectives were so important. Somehow I always got my objectives stolen, so I almost tilted, but at the same time, thanks to my teammates who were encouraging me a lot. They were saying ‘it’s okay,’ so I was able to keep my mentality strong, and our comp was pretty decent, we were able to go to the late game so I was able to stay strong and trust my teammates.”
DRX coach Ssong on it being a Cinderella story for the team: “So, we got to play a lot of best-of-five series and we figured the presence of mind and being calm and collected as the key factor. Even though we might lose a game or two, I wanted to make sure we’re still focusing on the opportunity and looking forward to what’s happening in the upcoming games.
“I wanted to make sure that we had the mental fortitude to pull off the best possible performance, and make sure the players are taking care of each other so they can make their best moves. So I think that impacted the most.”
‘There were many games we were able to win, but we made mistakes – T1 on Worlds 2022 final loss
T1 mid-laner Faker said: “I think there were many games where we were actually able to win, but we made mistakes, and I think DRX had better concentration heading into the latter phase of the series.
“Our players were working so hard throughout the year, and thanks to that we were able to get to where we were – so close to winning the Worlds finals. I told my teammates that you guys did a great job, from the bottom of my heart, and even though we ended up being runner-up. There were so many things to learn from this, so even though we lost the final series, we have so many takeaways.”
T1 coach Bengi added: “DRX was the fourth seed of the LCK and they have been stepping up so much throughout the tournament. They had a strong mentality during the best-of-five series and they have been overcoming a lot of hardships, so I believe they are a very strong team and that’s the reason why we were struggling against them in the finals and lost to them.
“Our players worked so hard throughout the year and we came so close to winning the Worlds finals. I told my teammates that they did a great job, from the bottom of my heart, even though we ended up being runner-up. There were so many things to learn from this, so even though we lost the final series, we have so many takeaways.”
Faker, T1
“Gameplay-wise I think we were rushing a little bit [in the finals]. I personally wasn’t good at the drafting, I was late at getting the grasp of the opponent’s tendency, so that was one of the flaws,” Bengi continued.
“I want to say my players pulled off a stellar performance throughout the season. They are so talented, every one of them are promising players so I hope this loss can become a stepping stone for the future, because they have a long way to go as professional players. And I want to say sorry for tonight’s result.”
T1 bot-laner Gumayusi said of his objective steals: “When I was stealing the objectives, this could be a really good outplay or highlight, but we didn’t win in the end, so it’s bittersweet in a way.”
Also at the event, content creation collective and esports coverage provider Last Free Nation were at Worlds 2022 for a pre-show and watch party activity:
Elsewhere in the UK, Esports News UK organised a sold-out Worlds 2022 grand final viewing party at Platform – thanks to all who attended!
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
