Dplus KIA vs. FearX Prediction on February 22, 2024

Match info

League of Legends’ LCK Spring 2024 Group Stage is rolling out in Korea. After a brief intermission, the competition for two berths in the Mid-Season Invitational 2024 resumes.

A matchup of our interest between Dplus KIA and FearX is scheduled for Thursday, February 22, at 5 p.m. local time at LoL Park in Seoul. It’s one of the matches in Week 5.

Meeting statistics

Both Dplus KIA and FearX are undoubtedly in the running to compete in the first international tournament of the season – the MSI 2024; however, they must first make it to the play-offs, which is a difficult task given that they occupy sixth and seventh positions in the Group Stage table, respectively.

Which of these two Korean teams will prevail in the Bo3 series and accrue valuable points towards the LCK Spring 2024 play-offs? Let’s try to predict.

The current form of Dplus KIA

In this match, Dplus KIA is a heavy favorite but with odds not worth putting on a betting slip at whatever LoL betting site you pick.

Although Dplus KIA was still DAMWON Gaming in the second to last season, this doesn’t alter the core of the issue. At LCK Spring 2022, Korea’s best team placed in the top 3, while at LCK Summer 2022, they ended in the top 4. The team qualified for Worlds 2022 thanks to their victory at the LCK Regional Finals 2022. The World Championship itself concluded with a 2-3 play-off loss versus Gen.G in an entertaining duel.

Dplus assembled a new squad following their rebranding. A “super team” of sorts was attempted, although the attempts of a kind rarely work that well at LCK. At the first event following the rebranding, Dplus didn’t get much of the arsenal of reigning world champion Kim “Deft“ Hyuk-kyu. The team didn’t perform well; they placed in the top 5 at LCK Spring 2023. Dplus advanced to the LCK Summer 2023 play-offs, however, their run was short-lived as they lost to T1 1-3 and were eliminated from the main draw of the esteemed competition before its time.

The team’s second-place result at the South Korean regional finals allowed them to qualify for Worlds 2023. Dplus eventually pulled together after dropping into the relegation zone, demonstrating their abilities and earning their place in the playoffs, which marked the conclusion of their run. For the first part of LCK Spring 2024, Dplus didn’t do well. With a record of 3-5, the team’s prospects are highly doubtful.

The current form of FearX

FearX will enter this encounter as a clear underdog.

On the LCK, FearX is a relatively new name. The organization made waves in the professional scene in 2018, but they only made it to LCK 2024 when Liiv Sandbox turned into SANDBOX Gaming and the latter became FearX.

They began playing in LCK in 2019, after one year of competitive experience. It wasn’t enough to get to Worlds 2019 after placing top 5 in LCK Spring 2019, top 4 in LCK Summer 2019, and top 3 in Regional Finals 2019.

Playing at TIR events, a series of poor performances ensued. When FearX placed fourth in the regional finals in 2021 while still competing as Liiv Sandbox, things began to improve. In 2022, when SANDBOX Gaming was just a step away from Worlds, things weren’t going too poorly. They failed to qualify for Worlds, finishing third at LCK Summer 2022 and Regional Finals.

Conversely, 2023 was a complete failure following a respectable performance in the prior season: top 6 at LCK Spring 2023 and top 7 at LCK Summer 2023. During the transfer window that ended in November 2023, FearX made some important roster changes. Kim „Willer“ Jeong-hyeon, the jungler, was the sole member of the former lineup that stayed after Song „Clear“ Hyeon-min, Lee „Clozer“ Ju-hyeon, Park „Hena“ Jeung-hwan, and Lee „Execute“ Jeong-hoon joined the team.

For FearX, the first half of LCK Spring 2024 went well. They ended up with a 3-3 result, which was good given that they were in the play-off zone before the season continuation. They are now 3-5.

Head-to-head

This is supposedly going to be the teams’ first official meeting.

Match analytics

It’s our belief that this match won’t be as one-sided as bookies anticipate. Dplus don’t inspire confidence and FearX aren’t the whipping boys that they were in their initial LCK encounters. Overall, we’d anticipate a complete bo3.

Bottom line: Handicap by maps of +1.5 on FearX at odds of 2.025 on EGB.com.

Results of the forecast

Forecast failed. Dplus KIA vs. FearX 2:0