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DFM’s new challenge

The new season brought quite a big shake-up to DFM. One of the region’s best top laners, Evi, became the first Japanese player to play in a major region, and left for the LEC. But just one lane below, another change occurred, with KT Rolster’s struggle in 2022, their mid laner Aria, decided to return to the LJL. DFM was somewhat of a question mark at the start. We saw the historic 2021 lineup in Aria, but tol2 didn’t leave the best impression in his short venture the first time he subbed in to play for AXIZ last year. We knew what the bot lane is capable of, but Worlds 2022 was still bittersweet in our memories. And if all these weren’t enough, the playing field has also levelled up in the league. The promised superteam, the SoftBank Hawks, after improving year after year, brought in the ex-HLE support Vsta… Sengoku, who were already going toe to toe with DFM, brought in LPL winner LokeN and world famous coach Reapered… It’s easy to see why people were skeptical about the lineup, fans and analysts alike.

DFM got destroyed by Sengoku Gaming in the opening match. Not just in score or KDA or damage graphs, but Sengoku looked like a league above them. And maybe the scariest part was, that the games weren’t on tol2. Both times LokeN got ahead in lane, and dominated until the end. While international fans may think DFM’s LJL title was guaranteed, at the start of the split, they were not favored by anyone. And this doubt in the team just got amplified when they lost to the Hawks just 2 weeks later. One thing looked obvious at that time. We had a clear top 3 in LJL with Sengoku, Hawks and DFM. But DFM looked considerably worse than the other 2.

The weeks went by, due to the schedule it took a long time before seeing these 3 teams face each other again. Throughout the whole Spring Split, the only defeat the top 3 suffered were against each other. And while Sengoku dominated every game, the question of, who is better Hawks or DFM, was growing in everyone’s mind. We could see tol2’s growth in real time (about which you can read more on his page), we could see Aria coming back to form, and we could see the veteran Yutapon still teaching the opponents how to play bot. The team wasn’t looking bad by any means. Really, just the competition seemed better.

We had to wait until Week 6 to get a rematch of DFM vs the Hawks. At this point, things started to heat up. Sengoku Gaming, while still undefeated, already gave away a few games. Teams like FENNEL were able to throw curveballs, and Jett wasn’t always able to carry if LokeN didn’t get ahead. They still looked like the best team in the league, but more and more of their mistakes got punished. Meanwhile, the Hawks had a secret weapon in their toolset, namely Vsta. He was by far the best mage support player, even playing multiple times the Bel’Veth support. SHG was sticking with their “unconventional” supports, trying to win through the bot lane, but DFM were able to dominate both games and sweep through SHG 2-0 in the rematch. This match changed the perceived power of the teams, and DFM didn’t look like the 3rd best team anymore. Slowly it became obvious they are on an upwards trend, while the others failed to gain similar momentum.

And with all that comes Week 7. Sengoku vs DFM. The match was looking to be the pinnacle of the regular season, the match to decide who is actually the best team in LJL at the moment. And the match, delivered. We got to see Aria and Jett go head to head in skill matchups, we got to see the battle of peak Yuatpon and peak LokeN, we got to see the Thresh – Blitzcrank “Hook City” battle too. And we got to see the series go to full length. Game 3 was a nail-biter, everyone had their moments, and the gold lead barely ever went above 3k, until Aria’s amazing shuffle on Azir that decided the game and the series.

While Sengoku ended the regular season first place due to DFM losing one extra game to the Hawks, the competition between these two teams looked fiercer than ever. Then, worrying signs started to appear above Sengoku. In the Playoffs, FENNEL (the 4th seed team) had a close, 5-game series against the middle of the pack Burning Core. Sengoku having the rights for opponent selection, obviously chose them over the Hawks. But the Semifinals went how no one expected. FENNEL took the 1st seed Sengoku into 5 games. Recap and Leo while weren’t bad, during the regular season no one would have expected them to challenge Jett and LokeN. And now, they got to carry in FENNEL’s two victories. In the end, Sengoku won Game 5, but their shaky performance, especially paired with the fact that on the other side, DFM swept the Hawks 3-0, no one knew what to expect from the Finals.

DFM’s last battle. After so many challenges. A new rookie top laner, who had to be coached, who had to get rid of his nerves. Steal and Aria, who knew they had to perform, as one of the most dominant mid – jungle duos in LJL history. Yutapon, who had to prove he still got it, and Harp who had to prove it’s not only Gaeng who can make LJL proud. And the Finals, wasn’t even close. In all games, DFM controlled the flow from start to finish. Even seeing the “Hook City” matchup again, Harp’s Blitzcrank paired with Aria’s frame perfect Ahri charms, was just too much to handle for Sengoku. DFM won all games under 30 minuets, and punched their ticket to MSI without losing even a single game throughout Playoffs.

Videos about DFM

DFM post-game interviews throughout the split (English translated)

DFM voice comms (Japanese)

Jesport Hub videos about the LJL (English)