In just a few hours, T1 will face a crucial match against Team Liquid. This will be the second encounter between the two teams at consecutive international tournaments. In their previous match at Worlds 2023, TL posed significant challenges for T1. Currently, the LCS champions have undergone many changes in their roster and have shown impressive performances. However, T1 is still facing a crisis but is somewhat rated higher. Especially since TL is not G2, who can make T1 sweat, and Faker along with his teammates likely do not want to be eliminated early from this year’s MSI.
The current situation for T1 has left no room for retreat. Every match for them is now a final, and just one more defeat will result in their immediate exit from the tournament. Therefore, despite facing four reigning champions from four Major regions, T1 must overcome them all if they wish to claim the championship. In the past, Faker and his teammates have faced difficult challenges, such as defeating four representatives from the LPL at last year’s Worlds. The situation now may seem serious, but clearly, T1 can successfully “climb the tower”. However, they need to address one critical weakness immediately.
That weakness is T1’s struggle to adapt to the current meta, specifically the roaming meta. Teams like G2 and TL have shown they are improving day by day. Gen.G and BLG have also had their moments of “syncing” with the roaming meta, but they have managed to overcome it in the best way possible. For T1, the roaming meta clearly poses a “hard counter” to their playstyle. Oner and Zeus are not performing at their best, while Gumayusi is not being allocated the resources he deserves. The fact that the Jungle and Mid Lane are not playing at “max ping” has inadvertently paralyzed the most crucial operational axis of the roaming meta. Thus, it is entirely understandable that T1 fails to execute this playstyle.
Overall, the strategy of each team needs to prioritize the human factor. However, for T1 at the moment, the performance of their personnel is their biggest issue. Poor performance, coupled with a lack of quick adaptability to the new meta, has made things difficult for T1 recently. If T1 does not address this as soon as possible, it is entirely possible that the League of Legends community may witness another upheaval.