Foreword: The S16 season has officially started, and most players are paying close attention to the recent confrontations. The EWC matches have been very fierce. No one anticipated that this event would experience consecutive upsets. With no double-elimination system in place, all MSI participants have been knocked out. The final will be contested between KC and DK. After 1723 days, DK has once again reached the finals of a world-class tournament, the last time being when they won the World Championship. Every team has been rooting for DK, as the prize money this time is substantial enough to at least ease their immediate financial troubles.

DK returns to the World Finals after 1723 days

Most players are quite interested in this EWC event, which is a global competition following MSI. Many believed it would be a showdown between the LPL and LCK regions, especially since LPL teams narrowly lost in MSI and failed to claim the title. However, no one expected consecutive upsets in this tournament. First, all three LPL teams were eliminated in a single day. Then, the highly favored T1 and GEN teams also left the competition at the same time. All MSI-participating teams have been eliminated, leaving the final to be between KC and DK.

A few days ago, DK was reported to have serious financial issues, with the entire League of Legends division experiencing unpaid wages. The players are competing under these conditions, and fortunately, travel expenses are covered, otherwise DK might not have been able to participate. The team is now publicly up for sale, and the former internet café team has returned to a state of financial distress. After winning the championship, they enjoyed a period of prosperity thanks to investment from major financial groups, which provided good training facilities. However, their performance has fluctuated significantly in recent years. The last time they advanced to a world-class final was 1723 days ago, during the World Championship they won.

T1's semifinal loss was hard for many fans to accept, and a large number of Korean fans even speculated whether T1 deliberately gave DK an opportunity in the final team fight due to DK's severe financial problems. With the Ocean Soul, Baron buff, and a massive gold lead, T1 suffered a comeback reminiscent of the 10k gold reversal by EDG years ago. Lucian's ultimate, combined with Gnar and Wukong's crowd control, instantly eliminated the top, mid, and support roles. Although Peyz evaded the crowd control, he couldn't carry the team alone, as KC's members focused on preventing his recall.

The prize pool for this EWC is quite generous. The club championship has a total prize pool of $30 million, with the first-place club receiving $7 million based on combined points across all events, second place $4 million, third place $3 million, and so on. For the League of Legends individual event, the total prize pool is $2 million, with the champion receiving $600,000 and the runner-up $340,000. DK is likely to secure the $600,000 prize, which, though not huge, can help alleviate their immediate financial strain. Additionally, the individual event prize and the club ranking prize do not conflict. The total prize pool for this event exceeds $75 million, making it the highest-paying comprehensive esports tournament globally.

In my opinion,

No one expected DK to perform so brilliantly, first crushing BLG and then eliminating GEN, steadily climbing over the favorites. Showmaker seems to have triggered his underlying code once again: "The trophy is right in front of me; I must consider whether this is the only opportunity I will ever have." Let's hope that this time, he won't hear the lyrics, "Cannot escape the parting of rivers and lakes, cannot forget the stunning glance."

What do you, the audience, think about this?