DWG KIA opens MSI 2021 with stellar win over Cloud9

DWG KIA opened the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational with a dominant win over Cloud9.

The wait has been long but MSI 2021 has finally kicked off in Reykjavík, Iceland. The show started with the most anticipated matchup between Cloud9 and the defending world champions DWG KIA. With the teams placed in group C, the two got a golden opportunity to duke it out from the get-go.

All eyes were on the mid-lane matchup between Heo “ShowMaker” Su and Luka “Perkz” Perković, but it was the jungle and top lane that ended up making the difference for DWG KIA today. 

Right from champion select, both teams gave a sneak peek at what the MSI meta might look like. With Varus in bot and Kindred in the jungle, Cloud9 went for a lot of carry threads with Tahm Kench to protect. On the other side, DWG KIA chose Morgana in the jungle which is a pick that many fans have probably wished to see.

With some exciting drafts from both sides, it didn’t take long before the action started to erupt on Summoner’s Rift. Cloud9 bot laner Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen was the one to get first blood, but DWG KIA quickly answered back with a sneaky kill in the top jungle where Kim “Khan” Dong-ha started to gain control against Ibrahim “Fudge Allami.  

The quest for Cloud9 was to get some of its laners going, as Robert “Blaber” Huang was falling behind quickly to Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu on Morgana. To relieve the pressure, Cloud9’s bot lane took the initiative and kept the game from snowballing in the favor of DWG KIA.

The bot-side priority was enough for Cloud9 to get a foothold on the map, resulting in good fights and skirmishes around the dragon. But keeping DWG KIA off minion waves and towers is easier said than done, so the LCK champions quickly regained the gold lead and overall control of the map.

After patient play from DWG KIA slowly crawling ahead, Khan and the rest of the squad decided to turn up the pace through clean team fighting. With two favorable team fights in a row, DWG KIA secured Baron Buff and a game-breaking lead.

Cloud9 kept trying to hold back the push from DWG KIA but the heavy poke from Zoe, Morgana, and Jhin was too much for the LCS representative to handle. In just 27 minutes, DWG KIA found the deciding team fight and put a final nail in the Cloud9 coffin. 

With a quick win in the bag, DWG KIA is already living up to the expectations from fans and experts. The defending world champions will also take the lead in Group C, where DetonatioN FocusMe and Infinity Esports will clash later to conclude the first day of the group. 

The 2021 Mid-Season Invitational will continue with the group stage up until Tuesday, May 11, where the first teams will be knocked out of the tournament.