Thus, T1’s journey in MSI 2024 has come to an end after their defeat to Bilibili Gaming. Perhaps, never before have T1’s players participated in a tournament where fans have been so concerned from start to finish as they were this year at MSI. Right from the early matches of the group stage, T1 showed how out of sync they were with the current meta. Subsequent matches revealed that this team had countless issues to address. Even more concerning was the image of Faker, showing he was still suffering from injuries, especially as T1 faced formidable opponents and had to play several five-game series this year.
Due to these ongoing issues, coupled with disappointing match results, T1’s players have been under immense pressure. In fact, some images surfaced showing coach KkOma comforting and motivating Keria and Gumayusi, which raised further concerns among fans. Keria himself admitted that the image of him lying down exhausted was taken before the match against G2 Esports. As the reigning World Champion and Spring LCK runner-up, along with the team’s reputation, it’s understandable that expectations for T1 were significantly higher than for other teams.
Right after the team’s defeat, on various forums, T1 fans issued an “ultimatum” to the team’s management: “If T1 has to participate in the Esports World Cup again, I might go crazy. Let them rest. Summer will start soon and they also have to fulfill their sponsor contracts from this year’s MSI.”
For those who may not know, recently it was reported that T1 would participate in the EWC 2024 held in Saudi Arabia. However, given the complex injury situation of Faker, as well as the morale of the players likely being affected after the MSI 2024 matches, the team’s management really needs to reconsider their participation in this tournament. Not to mention, the LCK Summer 2024 will begin shortly, and the meta will change. The players truly need time to recover and practice if they don’t want 2024 to be a year of empty-handed results across all competitions.