LoL: DAMWON vs Cloud9 – Worlds 2021 Group Stage Recap

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LoL: DAMWON vs Cloud9 – Worlds 2021 Group Stage Recap

Down 0-2, Cloud9 had to hope to find their first win against the reigning World Champions.


DAMWON KIA vs Cloud9

A screenshot from the 2021 World Championship Main Event Group Stage broadcast, showing the champion drafts between DAMWON KIA and Cloud9 with a shot of C9 top laner Fudge above.

Wanting to go undefeated in the first round-robin, DK was eager to smack C9 down. And Blaber made that all the easier when he face-checked a bush at level one to give over an easy First Blood to Khan. The next spot of action was in the bottom lane, where the teams traded one-for-one, but DK got the gold on their ADC while C9's support secured the kill gold, making it DK favored overall. At five minutes, C9 found their first positive play in the bottom lane, where they used four members to claim a much-needed kill.

From here, DK slowly started to gain more and more control. Khan was destroying Fudge in the top lane and took a number of plates early on. Meanwhile, DK slew Rift Herald and used it in the mid lane for plates before turning towards the bottom river to find a one-for-zero skirmish win. At 12 minutes, Khan cashed in on the First Tower bonus solo, making him a menace. Knowing this, C9 four-man dove him under his own tower a couple of minutes later, but it was too little, too late.

In typical C9 fashion though, they never stopped looking for a way back in. Because of this, C9 did find a ray of hope at 16 minutes, when they won a two-for-zero team fight. However, the reigning World Champions DK were too strong. For the next 10 minutes, they chipped away at C9's base, backing off to solidify their lead with Barons and dragons alike. They won fight after fight, and took their time cleanly dismantling C9. Eventually, at 31 minutes, DK took all of the C9 Inhibitors and only needed one final fight to cut down C9 and demolish their Nexus. With this clinical win, DK stays undefeated while C9 remains winless.

Quick Stats:

  • Teams: DK-C9
  • Time: 32:21
  • Kills: 15-7
  • Turrets: 11-1
  • Gold: 64.4k-51.0k
  • Dragons: 4-0
  • Barons: 2-0
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Brandon Sturak
Brandon is a writer and editor for ESTNN with a passion for esports. He writes about League of Legends and esports generally, providing analysis and commentary on both. He is a founding member of Niagara University Esports, while being the previous mid laner and Head Coach for the NU Esports LoL team as well. Twitter @GhandiLoL