In four games, DRX served the upset of the tournament and for our money, no one deserves the MVP slot more than Kim "Zeka" Geon-woo.
With only the four best teams of Worlds remaining in the semifinals, it was only to be expected that we saw some top-tier League of Legends. While T1 made short work of LPL Champions JD Gaming, losing only one game before securing the next three, that surprised few people. In the other semifinal, however, Gen.G were seen as the clear favorites against DRX, the fourth LCK seed that they had defeated in every game between the two teams this year. At least, that was the plan - but DRX had something to say about that. While all the team stepped up in what ended as a 3-1 victory for DRX, none impressed us more than their mid laner, Kim "Zeka" Geon-woo.
The LCK mid laner already showed he was not to be underestimated in his quarterfinal performance against EDG’s Lee "Scout" Ye-chan, but the degree to which he neutralized Gen.G’s star mid laner Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon was a sight to see.
Rising Up to the Challenge
Zeka’s series against Gen.G started in a less than perfect manner as his team flopped in the first game, getting slowly strangled by a very methodical and on point Gen.G. The game that followed, however, his Ahri was given the chance to reach the mid-game mostly unhurt - and several clutch charms were key to DRX turning the game around to tie the series. It wasn’t until the third game that Zeka was given the opportunity to shine, however, and he ran away with it. The mid-game saw his Akali pop off in teamfight after teamfight, assassinating the Gen.G bot lane in what ended up as the turning point in the game.
By game four he was back on a more supportive champion, but his Galio was still quite impactful, staying strong in the lanes and having very impactful teamfights that guaranteed his team’s victory. Compared to him, Gen.G’s Chovy was looking nervous and uncertain, missing several key Ryze skills that ended up making a difference in the early fights. With this performance, Zeka has earned his spot among the star mid laners of the LCK.
Stats of the Week
Zeka’s semifinal debut was a very forgettable 0/2/0 Azir game, but in the next several games he showed us much better performances. He went unkilled in the next two games for a 1/0/5 Ahri and 7/0/2 Akali, before ending with a solid Galio game where he went 2/2/9. With four different champions, and against a player widely considered one of the best of the LCK, that was a very solid performance.
| Champion | Kills | Deaths | Assists |
| Game 1: Azir | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Game 2: Ahri | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Game 3: Akali | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| Game 4: Galio | 2 | 2 | 9 |
Red More:
- DRX Upset Gen.G at Worlds Semifinal
- T1 Secure Finals Spot at LoL Worlds
- Worlds Quarterfinals MVP: T1 Zeus
Zeka has shown a lot of tenacity so far and he has stepped up when it counts - but at the finals, he will be facing against Faker himself. Would the young prodigy falter when facing the player many see as the greatest of all time, or will DRX beat the odds once more?