After being eliminated from Worlds, I had the chance to speak to DK Showmaker about the series and his personal thoughts on the year.

Photo Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games

DK Showmaker – a heartbreak moment

DK faced off against KT Rolster for a full Korean series in the last round of the Swiss stage. Whoever won the series would join the top 8 at Worlds 2023 and continue their journey in the tournament.

Despite two close games and looking in a winning position in a lot of moments, DK failed to take down KT, bidding farewell to this year’s title chances. When I first saw Showmaker on camera, I could really feel that blank stare: “It’s a bit of a bummer and the result is not what we wanted so it feels really sad,” he said.

This was the second time DK played against KT in this Swiss stage, so both teams knew each other better going into the series. According to the Korean mid laner, their goal was to target ban some of the comfort picks on KT’s side and that the general drafting went as they planned.

The execution, however, was a bit lacking. DK had captured dragon soul in Game 1 but lost a key Elder dragon fight. In Game 2, they looked in a winning position for the majority of the game, and Showmaker himself was convinced they could take the series to at least three games:

We were having a big lead throughout Game 2 so I was pretty confident that we could just win the late game but I guess their late game was also pretty strong. Also, in many teamfights and skirmishes, the execution was not up to par. If I have to choose a moment I regret about my play, maybe I wasn’t performing the best around Baron.

DK has always been known for being a particularly strong early game team and they have maintained that strength for years. I asked Showmaker whether he thinks the meta, which revolves around scaling and teamfighting, has been impacting the team’s performance. He mentioned that pro teams need to be able to adapt to the meta regardless of how it is, so the results were on them in the end.

I followed up by questioning whether the Swiss stage or other factors played a part but the mid laner was positive about the new format:

I can tell so many viewers are happy with the format and I think the same way. It was a really positive change and if you actually get affected by the new format, I guess you are not a team to actually win it all, so I don’t have any negative thoughts about it.

Personal thoughts on this season and setting eyes on 2024

Showmaker and DK had a rough 2023 season. While they were fighting in the top half of the LCK, they were rarely in a position to fight against the LCK’s top teams and the title. The Korean player was a bit disappointed when looking back at the entire year:

Starting from Spring split, I left a lot to be desired and I got several opportunities but I wasn’t able to catch the chances I was given so I feel really sorry to all the fans and also I don’t know about next year yet, but if I decide to continue to play professionally, I will keep working my best.

I questioned him whether he had achieved other personal goals this year, but Showmaker was fully focused on pro play: “My goal has always been to win it all, so I didn’t have anything,” he added.

In a previous interview, Showmaker talked about the fact that winning Worlds also requires luck. When I asked him whether he felt like luck had abandoned him this year, he made it clear that it was the team’s performance up to level.

You also need to have strong level of performance in order to win it all so that means our achievement this year is because of our performance and not about luck.

Even though DK won’t be able to win this year’s Worlds, Showmaker was confident that the title will be reached by one of the LCK teams. And when asked what he would say to his fans or future self, he just said: “To future Showmaker, I wish you are happy.”

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