When EDward Gaming (EDG) from the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) defeated DWG KIA (DK) from League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) in the 2021 League of Legends (LoL) World Championship Final in Reykjavík, Iceland on Saturday, they also created the following histories: They broke the team’s awkward record of never going further than the quarterfinals at the world championship; they became the first LPL team to beat an LCK team in the world championship final; they became the first grand slam LPL team to win the domestic league title, the Mid-Season Invitational championship and the world championship title.

EDG’s mid laner Lee Ye-chan (Game ID: Scout) was named the Finals MVP (Most Valuable Player) after his character Zoe, the Aspect of Twilight, made the biggest contribution to acquiring the initiative for the team in the last two bouts. And let’s not forget that Scout did all this while facing Heo So (Game ID: ShowMaker), who is probably the best LoL player in the world.

Scout was a bit shocked when he was awarded the Finals MVP. “I didn’t perform that well. Before the fifth game, I felt that maybe the Finals MVP should be given to our jungle player, Jiejie, because he played so well in this whole set,” Scout said after the final.

Scout actually made a good point because Zhao Lijie (Game ID: Jiejie) managed to pin down Kim Geon-bu (Game ID: Canyon) in every of the three games EDG won. Unlike the DK jungler, Jiejie did not have a deep pool of characters he could master, but he knew what his role was and has always been able to do the right thing at the right time.

For example, EDG survived multiple close battles in the last bout only thanks to the Oceanic Will they had after Jiejie secured the Ocean Drake for the team. When DK was targeting the Elder Dragon as their last but best turn-around opportunity, Jiejie stood out again and made sure that EDG pocketed the Aspect of the Dragon.

The final was not perfect for EDG or there wouldn’t have been five bouts. In fact, the team was already on the edge of the cliff after losing the second and third games. However, they didn’t panic at all because the team knew they could always trust their bot laner Park Do-hyeon (Game ID: Viper) whatever happened.

Viper rarely made mistakes whether it was Khada Jhin, the Virtuoso, Lucian the Purifier or Aphelios, the Weapon of the Faithful he was using. He was the reason why EDG could make progress after engaging. When chances to reap appeared, Viper never hesitated to take them.

Of course the team’s victory could have never happened without the key performance of support Tian Ye (Game ID: Meiko) and top laner Li Xuanjun (Game ID: Flandre). Unlike the other four positions, Meiko rarely had any chances to make any highlights but he often had to face the greatest pressure without quality gear, because that’s the support’s role and job. Meiko overcame all of these difficulties and did a fantastic job of initiating. His use of Zilean, the Chronokeeper facing DK’s pair of Yasuo, the Unforgiven and Xin Zhao, the Seneschal of Demacia in the first game was integral to EDG’s win.

In the last game, Meiko had no fear at all making hard engage with the explosive combination of Trundle, the Troll King and Syndra, the Dark Sovereign. Meiko’s resilience was why Flandre was able to make the last key punch.

(CGTN)