Worlds 2020 Group Stage Team Preview: DRX
We look at DRX, their path to Worlds 2020, and how they might fare in the group stage.
The 2020 League of Legends World Championship groups are locked in and Korea’s second seed, DRX, have been matched with LPL champions Top Esports, LCS runners-up FlyQuest, and play-in qualifiers Unicorns of Love. How will DRX fare in Worlds 2020?
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The Season
DRX were known as Kingzone DragonX in 2019, DragonX in the 2020 Spring Split, and now DRX for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, the organization has just one trophy to its name so not much was lost in its third rebrand of the last twelve months.
The all-Korean team began Season 10 on the front foot and convincingly placed in the top three during the Spring Split regular season before securing third in the playoffs.
The Summer Split was an even greater success as DRX climbed to second in both the regular season and playoffs, falling to DAMWON Gaming 3-0 in the playoff final.
This result meant that DRX qualified for their first-ever World Championship after previously only attending one international tournament, the 2018 Mid-Season Invitational.
The Roster
Top Lane – Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon
Doran made his competitive League of Legends debut in August 2018 with Seoul before moving to the LCK’s Griffin ahead of the 2019 Summer Split. Since then, the top laner has appeared in three consecutive LCK playoffs but this will be his first trip to the World Championship.
DRX essentially rely on Doran to be the immovable rock for the team, picking whatever champion suits the composition, and holding his lane even when bombarded with ganks and roams.
With 14 unique champions played throughout the LCK Summer Split regular season, Doran has one of the most versatile champion pools in the world and could raise eyebrows with his lock-ins during Worlds 2020.
Jungle – Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon
Pyosik will be attending the biggest tournament in League of Legends just nine months after making his competitive League of Legends debut. The jungler’s rise to the top of the LCK with DRX has been nothing short of remarkable, especially from such an impactful and important role.
Usually, this sort of fairytale story would only occur due to a player being carried by his teammates. For Pyosik, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
In the LCK Summer Split regular season, the jungler was one of the most feared players in his role, boasting an incredible 15.7% share of his team’s damage and average +221 gold difference at 15 minutes.
Mid Lane – Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon
This will be Chovy’s second appearance at the World Championship after guiding Griffin to the quarter-finals in 2019. The mid laner has yet to win a major trophy in League of Legends but at just 19-years-old there’s plenty of time to etch his name into the history books.
In a league consisting of legendary players like ShowMaker, Bdd, and Faker, it’s unsurprisingly difficult to make an impact. Chovy somehow did exactly that in the 2020 Summer Split with some of the best laning stats in the LCK.
DRX’s star man boasted an excellent 9.8 average CS per minute as well as 26.1% of his team’s damage. Not only that, the mid laner was consistently getting the better of his lane opponent with an average +339 gold difference at 15 minutes.
AD Carry – Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu
Having started his competitive League of Legends career in 2013, Deft is no stranger to the World Championship. This will be the marksman’s fifth appearance at the tournament, though despite winning four major trophies with KT Rolster and EDward Gaming, the Summoner’s Cup has yet to be added to his long list of achievements.
Deft was consistent but not spectacular during the LCK Summer Split. The legendary ADC was one of the top players in his role but took a back seat to allow Pyosik and Chovy to carry the team in a mid-jungle heavy meta.
Support – Ryu “Keria” Min-seok
Until the Spring Split, Keria had yet to make an LCK appearance. Now, the support has already grabbed a playoff runners-up medal and secured qualification to his first-ever World Championship.
It was Keria’s remarkable playmaking and bot side control that allowed DRX to dictate the tempo and rule over many top LCK teams throughout the Summer Split. The support had an excellent 5.5 KDA (the highest in his role) and 73.3% kill participation during the regular season, highlighting what an immense split he had.
Next. Unicorns of Love vs. SuperMassive Recap. dark
90/50/10 Predictions
90% odds that… DRX qualify for the World Championship knockout stage.
DRX face FlyQuest and Unicorns of Love in Group D. Top Esports and DRX should have no problem making it out of their group.
50% odds that… Chovy is a top-three player in the world by the end of Worlds 2020.
Chovy has already made headlines as one of the most talented mid laners in the world at just 19-years-old. By the end of the 2020 World Championship it would come as no surprise if he joined the debate for “best player in the world” after taking down some of the best mid laners in the tournament.
10% odds that… DRX beat Top Esports and take the first seed into the quarter-finals.
Anything can happen in best-of-ones – which begs the question why they have any place in the biggest tournament in League of Legends – so there is a slim chance that DRX finish ahead of the LPL champions in Group D.
Ultimately, it will come down to who wins the head-to-head between the two or a tiebreaker.