[UPDATE: Nov 16] Alongside the departure announcement of kkOma, Nuguri and Burdol, DWG KIA also announced the departure of their coaching staff, Yang "Daeny" Dae-in and Lee "Zefa" Jae-min. After being fired from T1, Daeny rejoined the team in the latter half of 2021 as an analyst. Soonafter, Daeny was promoted to the head coach positionm, and with Zefa rejoining the team, the coaching staff that led the team to the world championship victory in 2020 led the team once again.

Despite this, the team struggled to find success both domestically and internationally, as the team finished top four in both Spring and Summer split, and top 8 at Worlds 2022.

In preparation of the 2023 season, DWG KIA announced personnel changes to their organization.

First, DWG KIA announced the departure of their Atheltic Director, Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun. Most notable for his tenure with SKT T1 [now known as T1] and leading the team to three Worlds titles, he left the team and had a short tenure in the LPL with Vici Gaming in 2020. After his time in China, he initially joined the organization in Nov 2020, where kkOma led their League of Legends roster to a 2nd place finish at Worlds 2021. He transitioned into the new role of Athletic Director at DWG KIA, where he oversaw all the teams under the DWG KIA name.

DWG KIA also announced that both of their top laners, Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon and Noh “Burdol” Tae-yoon have become free agents. Burdol was the sole starting top laner for the team during LCK Spring 2022. Nuguri rejoined the team for the Summer split. The two top laners shared time in starting for the team, and the team finished top 8 at this year’s Worlds.

"DWG KIA followed the trail where AD Kim, the solid skipper of DWG KIA for two years, advanced," the organization stated on Twitter. "DWG KIA will cherish every moment with AD Kim and wishes him the best of luck in the future." The team also took the time to express appreciation for Nuguri and Burdol, stating that the team "appreciates Nuguri's contribution to the organization in 2022 and wishes him the best of luck in the future", as well as a similar sentiment for Burdol. With the stove league heating up, it’ll be curious to see how DWG KIA’s roster will look like for 2023.

*All images via DWG KIA