DAMWON Gaming renames for 2021 season, partners up with KIA

Christian Vejvad • December 22, 13:43

The defending world champions from DAMWON will be changing their name for the 2021 season after signing a naming rights deal with KIA Motors.

With the new partnership, the team will be known as “DWG KIA” starting in 2021, according to several reporters within the South Korean League of Legends scene. With the KIA partnership, DAMWON will also rock a new uniform and will get a new logo.

담원게이밍과 기아자동차가 다년간의 네이밍 스폰서십 계약을 체결하였습니다.
2021년부터 DWG KIA로서 함께 활동하며 다양한 글로벌 콘텐츠를 통해 MZ 세대와의 소통을 확대할 예정입니다. 새로운 팀명과 함께 e스포츠 활성화에 앞장서게 될 DWG KIA에 팬분들의 많은 기대와 응원 부탁드립니다! pic.twitter.com/hFzuYklR4G

— DWG_Official (@DamwonGaming) December 21, 2020

League of Legends fans might already be familiar with KIA Motors within the scene since the company has been a sponsor for Europe’s LEC since the 2019 season. KIA will now also branch out to be a part of an esports team and the current best team in the world might be the perfect place for them to start.

Up until now, DAMWON has been known as an organization that started from the absolute bottom and has built up a well-respected team in just a few years. The deal with KIA will be by far the biggest in the organization’s history and maybe also one of the biggest in LoL history. It’s rarely seen that LoL teams sign a naming rights deal, but it might be the next step in the growth of LoL esports.

According to Ashley Kang, a DAMWON source said that they are happy to have finalized the deal with KIA. The source also mentioned that partnering up with a company that is already involved in esports “should fill the DWG KIA fans with excitement”.

“After a long consideration process, we are glad [DWG] has come to a sponsorship agreement. The fact our new sponsorship partner already has a track record of reaching out to international fans through esports sponsorship should fill the DWG KIA fans with excitement.”

— Ashley Kang #LCK (@AshleyKang) December 21, 2020

DAMWON will be entering the 2021 LCK season at the start of January with a new name and logo, ready to fight for another domestic title.

Who is DAMWON in LoL?

DAMWON is a South Korean esports organization focused on League of Legends. The organization was founded in 2017. Back then, the roster of MiraGe Gaming was picked up by the team, which started DAMWON’s journey throughout the South Korean LoL ladder. DAMWON played its way through the challenger scene before qualifying for the 2019 LCK season. DAMWON made it to Worlds in its first season as an LCK team, followed up by winning the 2020 World Championship. DAMWON is to this day one of the fastest-evolving LoL organizations in history.

How good is DAMWON?

As the defending world champions, DAMWON is considered the best team in the world as of December 2020. The team had a fantastic 2020 season and managed to improve as a whole throughout the year. DAMWON didn’t look like the best team in the 2020 spring split, but picked it up in the summer and dominated the LCK. DAMWON followed up that LCK performance at the 2020 World Championship, where they won the Summoner’s Cup without much trouble.

What is the 2021 DAMWON lineup?

Even though DAMWON recently won the World Championship, fans won’t see the 2020 lineup play together in the upcoming season. The team made a single swap in the offseason and it was a big one. From 2021, former top laner Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon will be playing for FunPlus Phoenix in the LPL while Kim “Khan” Dong-ha will replace him on DAMWON.

The DAMWON 2021 LCK lineup is: