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Dplus KIA Take Down KT Rolster to Secure LCK's Final Worlds 2026 Slot
Dplus KIA, formerly known as DWG KIA, are returning to the Worlds stage after a 1-year hiatus. The 2020 World Champions most recently secured victory at the Esports World Cup and will be looking to replicate their success on the brightest League of Legends stage.
The qualification came through after taking down KT Rolster in a dramatic 3-1 resurgence series in the Lower Bracket of the LCK Season Playoffs.
ShowMaker Returns to the Worlds Stage
Dplus KIA’s talismanic Mid Laner, Heo “ShowMaker” Su, returns to the Worlds stage after missing out last year. The last time he graced the World stage, Dplus KIA made it as far as top 9-11, falling to a Weibo Gaming side that made it to the Finals.
With a contract expiring at the end of this season, this could be ShowMaker's swan song. In a qualification run marked by excellence, the mid laner led the team to their second international showing of the year — and for the true believers, maybe, just maybe, a shot at a second title this year.
Written in the Stars
It wasn’t just poetic that Dplus KIA and ShowMaker secured the final slot for Worlds after a resurgence following EWC. It was that they did so by beating KT Rolster.
In their Road to MSI bid, it was Dplus KIA that stood at series point against KT Rolster. Only to face the reverse sweep and see their mid-season end prematurely.
Only recently, in the Upper Bracket of the Season Playoffs, it was KT Rolster, once again, that struck down Dplus KIA 3-0, including the infamous 14.4k gold lead throw.
And so, for Dplus KIA to bounce back from their series against BNK FEARX with a reverse sweep, only to once again meet KT Rolster for the final Worlds slot — well, some (Caedrel) would call that fate.
Third Time's the Charm
After dropping Game 1 against KT Rolster in a poor show of form, Dplus KIA's bot lane duo, in particular, bounced back in Game 2 with Shin "Smash" Geum-jae leading the charge on his Lucian.
Game 3 was a decisive win after KT Rolster made a tactical error in the pick/ban phase. Choi "Lucid" Yong-hyeok's Trundle was particularly impactful that game in shutting down Moon "Cuzz" Woo-chan.
In the final game of the series, Dplus' bot side once again took charge, with Oh "Career" Hyeong-seok's critical engages sealing the deal for his team.
With this win, 3 of the 5 Dplus KIA players are set to attend their first-ever Worlds, with only Lucid and ShowMaker having previously attended.
LCK Playoffs Continue with Remaining 4
4 teams remain in contention for the Season Playoffs accolade. All 4 teams have already secured Worlds qualification, so this run will solely be for domestic pride. Dplus KIA will next play against T1 on Sunday at 10 am CEST.
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Featured Image Credit: LCK
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