Sponge’s Jarvan IV Sets the Tone for Nongshim

TL;DR: Sponge turned Game 1 with a commanding 4/1/16 on Jarvan IV, but the real break came through mid, where Scout’s Locke built a crushing +2104 GoldDiff@15. That control let Nongshim RedForce run over Kiwoom DRX in 27:30, finish 28-13 in kills, and seize a 4 dragons to 0 objective sweep that reshaped the series.

Key Takeaways

• Nongshim RedForce won the map through tempo and structure, turning a 59.8k to 50.1k gold edge into a brutal 28-13 kill score and a 9 towers to 1 demolition.
• Sponge’s Jarvan IV delivered the anchor performance the game needed: 4/1/16, a 20.00 KDA, and constant setup that let every Nongshim lane cash in.
• Scout on Locke shattered the center of the map with 12/2/9 and +2104 GoldDiff@15, while Nongshim’s 4 dragons to 0 made DRX’s teamfight plan collapse before it could stabilize.

Building the Lead

The pre-series conversation pointed toward Willer as Kiwoom DRX’s swing factor, especially with his stronger recent numbers than Sponge. Instead, Game 1 flipped that script hard. The Nongshim jungler found the first real rhythm of the map, and once his engages started landing, DRX were forced to react instead of dictating pace.

That mattered most in mid. Scout’s Locke did not just win lane; he blew it open. His +2104 GoldDiff@15 was the clearest sign that this was a mid-lane diff, and it gave Nongshim the space to move first into river fights and dragon setups. On the other side, Ucal’s Orianna ended 1/2/2, and the champion that DRX prioritized as part of their cleaner teamfight identity never got the stable front-to-back stage it needed.

Prediction 1 from the pre-draft read deserves a direct verdict. Orianna, Xin Zhao, and Varus all appeared, but they delivered very differently. Orianna underperformed because DRX lost control too early, Xin Zhao looked exactly like the risky B1 warning suggested as Willer fell to 4/9/5, and Varus was not the flashy star at 3/4/8 but still helped Nongshim keep pressure and range in the draft they actually executed.

The Numbers Tell the Story

The scoreboard alone tells you this was one-sided, but the objective line explains why it stayed that way. Nongshim RedForce secured 4 dragons to 0, claimed 1 barons to 0, and tore down the map at 9 towers to 1. That is not just winning fights; that is winning the spaces between fights.

In bottom lane, Diable’s Ezreal turned the draft’s volatility into comfort, finishing 7/2/9 with a +801 GoldDiff@15. He did not need to overforce because the jungle-mid duo had already bent the game in Nongshim’s favor. Nearby, Lehends on Shen added 2/4/14, giving the team another layer of engage and cross-map protection that made every skirmish feel tilted before it began.

DRX had moments of resistance. LazyFeel on Yunara produced 5/6/2, and Frog’s Gnar stayed respectable at 3/3/2. But with only 1 tower, 0 dragons, and 50.1k gold by the end, those isolated returns never connected into a comeback pattern. The game type said stomp, and the numbers back it completely.

The Final Push

By the late mid game, Nongshim were no longer asking whether DRX could fight back; they were deciding where to end. With a gold lead that swelled toward 10k, their engages became simpler and crueler. Sponge would start the play, the follow-up arrived instantly, and DRX’s formation broke before Orianna could turn a clean combo into hope.

The finish at 27:30 felt inevitable because every advantage stacked together. Nongshim RedForce closed with 28 kills, four dragons, Baron control, and enough side-lane pressure to leave DRX boxed into losing terrain. For an opening game, it was a statement: the favorite at draft close did not just win, it imposed its version of the series.

Polymarket Market

The market read this game better at draft close than it did before the day began. Pre-match, Kiwoom DRX held a 54% series edge, but by draft close for Game 1 the game price had swung to Nongshim RedForce 60% and the series to 62%, which proved accurate. What execution revealed, however, was just how wrong the live draft lean toward DRX’s cleaner teamfight image turned out to be in practice. DRX were modeled at 59% in the draft analysis context, yet Willer’s troubled Xin Zhao game and Scout’s massive mid advantage shattered that logic quickly. After this result, the series market moved from 38% to 18% for Kiwoom DRX and from 62% to 82% for Nongshim RedForce, a 21.0pp swing that says Game 2 now starts under heavy pressure for DRX.

Match Stats

FAQ

*Odds via Polymarket, 2026-07-29 08:40 UTC.*