At this moment, the attention of League of Legends fans worldwide is gradually shifting towards MSI 2024 – the first international tournament of the year. This year, to enhance the excitement of the tournament, Riot has made significant changes to the format. Notably, the Play-In stage will attract a host of powerful teams, prominently featuring T1. This MSI is predicted to be intense, especially after the audience experienced five incredibly tense games in the final of LCK Spring 2024 recently. And the reigning MSI champion JD Gaming didn’t even have the chance to defend their title after losing to Top Esports.
Based on their performance against Gen.G in the final, T1 is undoubtedly still one of the top contenders for the MSI 2024 championship. However, recently, many fans have also inadvertently recognized an important fact: The venue for this year’s MSI – Chengdu, China, might be a “blessed ground” for T1 due to a factor from the past.
Specifically, during their first championship, at MSI 2016, SKT T1 was crowned right in China, specifically in Shanghai. Another notable point is that in 2016, SKT T1 retained almost their entire roster, except for the Top Lane position of captain MaRin, and that was the least roster change for SKT T1 after they won a World Championship. In 2024, T1 has gone even further by retaining the entire roster that won the championship in 2023.
Moreover, in 2024, the fierce opponents who previously troubled T1 and the LCK at MSI have undergone many changes or have even “disappeared” (like JDG). Therefore, there is solid ground to believe in the two representatives from the LCK, especially T1 – a team that consistently performs well whenever given the opportunity to step onto international stages.
Another MSI is approaching, and as always, T1 will once again be highly regarded. Of course, to win the championship, the most crucial factor remains the performance of the players. But at least, right from this moment, T1 fans have a basis to trust in their team’s ability to compete for the title.