Former League of Legends world champions Dplus KIA faced a heartbreaking elimination from Worlds 2023 when they were denied a chance to claim a second Summoner’s Cup by their fellow Korean team, KT Rolster.
League of Legends fans have been focusing on a particular teamfight that might have changed the series outcome had it not been for one unfortunate misplay by Dplus ADC, Deft. In the second game of the KT and Dplus Swiss stage series on October 29, a crucial teamfight swung in favor of KT Rolster. However, it could have gone differently if Deft had successfully executed his Aphelios ultimate, Moonlight Vigil.
In the fight, Deft can be seen in Dplus’ backline, and although it wasn’t immediately noticed by the casters, it was clear that his Moonlight Vigil passed directly through an allied Jarvan IV instead of hitting the enemy team. This resulted in the ability dealing no damage and going to waste, leaving Dplus KIA without one of their most significant DPS cooldowns for the battle. Shortly after this crucial miss, Dplus’ next-best damage dealer, ShowMaker, attempted a solo flank but was caught out of position and quickly eliminated.
Deft was left with little protection and eventually fell victim to an enemy Nautilus’s Dredge Line (Q), sealing the fate of the fight.
Deft was significantly ahead in the game at this point, and if he had landed his ultimate, it likely would have devastated KT’s backline. Some players on the League subreddit speculated that Deft might have mistakenly used mini-map targeting, a feature in place for abilities like Shen’s Stand United and Ezreal’s Trueshot Barrage, but Aphelios’s ultimate does not benefit from this feature. In this scenario, Deft simply missed his target.
At this point in the game, both teams were even in dragons and towers, but Dplus had a 3,000 gold lead. Winning this fight could have allowed them to push down the mid lane and eventually secure KT’s Nexus due to their late-game advantage. Instead, they were forced into another teamfight, resulting in another loss that sealed the game.
While it might be a stretch to say that this misplay alone led to Dplus KIA’s elimination from Worlds, it is interesting to consider what could have happened if Deft had successfully used this ability, potentially leading to a deciding game between the two teams. Regardless, KT advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament, while Dplus were eliminated before the bracket stage of Worlds for the first time in franchise history.
KT Rolster is set to return to the Worlds stage on Sunday, November 4, for a quarterfinal match against JD Gaming.