Dplus KIA vs. DRX Prediction on February 25, 2024

Match info

The first part of LoL’s LCK Spring 2024 is almost over.

A match between DRX and Dplus KIA (Sunday, February 25, at 3 p.m. local time at LoL Park in Seoul, Korea) is scheduled for the fifth and final week of the Group Stage. Since they are vying for a playoff position, this game is crucial for the latter. Before the second half of the season begins, let’s see if Dplus can assure themselves a spot beyond the relegation zone by winning this game.

Meeting statistics

The current form of Dplus KIA

League of Legends bookmakers put Dplus KIA as heavy favorites in this match.

Dplus were still DAMWON in the previous season if anyone keeps track. Subsequently, Korea’s finest LoL organization finished third in LCK Spring 2022 and fourth in LCK Summer 2022. They qualified for Worlds 2022 thanks to their victory at the LCK Regional Finals 2022. However, they lost in the playoffs to Gen.G in a spectacular encounter, 2-3. Following the brand revamp, Dplus put together a new squad. An attempt was made to form a “super team“, however in LCK, such initiatives aren’t very successful. In the first event following the name change, Dplus didn’t receive much play improvement from the current world champion Kim “Deft“ Hyuk-kyu. They finished fifth in LCK Spring 2023, which isn’t good.

With an 11-7 record (fourth place), Dplus qualified for the playoffs in LCK Summer 2023. They, nevertheless, didn’t last long in the knockout stages. They were eliminated early after losing to T1 with a score of 1-3 in the opening round.

Thanks to their second-place result in the South Korean Regional Finals, Dplus qualified for Worlds 2023. They played G2 Esports to start their World Championship campaign and ended up in the lower bracket after being inferior to the top European title team. Dplus competed against their fellow countrymen from KT Rolster following that. And once more, Deft and his well-known teammates were unable to use their greatness to assist the team win: Dplus were 0-2 at that point.

Dplus eventually collected themselves and demonstrated their abilities after falling into the relegation zone. Eliminating BDS from the competition, they resumed their arduous playoff campaign. They went on to defeat GAM Esports and were 2-2, however, in the decisive match, they succumbed to KT Rolster, meaning they were out of the postseason. Dplus are coming into the game against DRX with a 4-5 record, which is somewhat unsteady. They are almost guaranteed a playoff berth in sixth position in the standings but have to confirm it.

The current form of DRX

We’re analyzing DRX’s form to resume the match analysis.

The 12th LCK season for the South Korean team was just plain. They placed fifth in LCK Spring 2022 and sixth in LCK Summer 2022. The team qualified for Worlds by finishing second in the LCK Regional Finals, against all odds.

Due to their dismal performance throughout the competitive year, DRX had to go to the Play-In round of the Worlds 2022. They took the longest route of all to reach the final. They were 5-0 in the Play-In and 4-2 in the Group Stage. The true “Cinderella” tale then started. The manner DRX overcame the current world champions EDward Gaming in the quarterfinals is worth retelling. Reverse sweeps are uncommon at this level of competition, but DRX executed one there. The fact they defeated the LCK Summer 2023 champions Gen.G and then astoundingly did the same to T1 in the Grand Final was highly intriguing.

Following their incredible victory at Worlds 2022, DRX’s fortunes rapidly soured: they finished ninth in LCK Spring 2023, sixth in LCK Summer 2023, and fourth in the regional finals, which eventually kept them from competing at Worlds 2023.

Park “Teddy” Jin-seong is DRX’s big bet for the upcoming season. In the long term, we’ll see if the well-known Korean bot can assist his new team in returning to their former glory. For DRX, the circumstances are more dire than for their next rival. With a record of 1-8 and virtually little chance of qualifying for the playoffs, they are ranked second-to-last in the table.

Head-to-head

The two sides have faced off five times thus far. DRX have never taken one map, much less prevailed.

Match analytics

There’s no reason to believe in DRX’s triumph against Dplus. However, the values for such an outcome at bookies are too low hence opt for a different kind of bet: Total Kills Map 1 – Over 21.5 with odds of 1.970 on Pinnacle.

Results of the forecast

Successful forecast. Dplus KIA vs. DRX 2:1