Once again, T1 has faced defeat against Gen.G in a finals match of the LCK. It can be said that in the domestic arena, Gen.G remains a formidable force against T1. However, both teams delivered a tense and dramatic finals that kept fans on the edge of their seats until the very last moment. It felt as if even when one team held an advantage, the other could still turn the tide. Nonetheless, the match was truly exhilarating, and for T1 fans, there’s probably no reason to feel too regretful as their team gave it their all.
However, that does not mean T1 was without critical mistakes that led to their defeat. In games 2 and 3, T1 demonstrated that they could completely dominate Gen.G if they played at their peak. Yet, at crucial moments, T1 made mistakes that allowed Gen.G to seize control of the match.
The “Blind Herald Play” by Faker
Perhaps Faker is the player who left the most regret. Throughout all 4 games, he played exceptionally well, almost as if the “Demon King” from 2015 – 2016 had returned. In fact, Faker’s Azir “Quadra Kill” in game 1 can be considered one of the most outstanding moments of this finals. However, just when the team placed their hopes on Faker’s Orianna, the leader of T1 drove the Herald straight into Gen.G’s turret. There would have been nothing to comment on if not for the fact that all five members of Gen.G were waiting right there.
Losing Faker, T1 also lost the balance they had maintained in game 5. Of course, T1 did not lose immediately after that incident, but it allowed Chovy to officially surpass Faker, and T1 lost control of the match. Moreover, Faker’s “sacrifice” became meaningless when Gen.G’s Mid Lane turret was still intact. Without Faker, T1 lost the chance to contest the Dragon and gradually fell victim to Gen.G’s snowball effect.
Zeus’s Performance
It has been a long time since we saw Zeus’s Aatrox suffer like this in a match. Still the champion that helped T1 win the 2023 World Championship, but against Kiin, Zeus was not particularly effective. His later standout moments with pure tank champions like Zac or K’Sante could not mask one crucial fact: Zeus did not truly play at his peak in this finals.
To make matters worse for Zeus, he faced Kiin, who was having the finals of his career on the opposing side. The Gen.G player performed as if this were the last finals of his life, and Zeus simply had no chance. Zeus remains very reliable, but perhaps he himself needs to adapt more quickly and maintain high form consistently. Especially when his domestic rivals are Kiin and Doran, and globally, players like Bin are all superstars in the top lane right now.
No One Protected Gumayusi in Game 4
There is a truth: in the 2 games that T1 won, they had very good shielding options for their main damage dealers (Faker and Gumayusi) to freely unleash their abilities. However, in the decisive game 4, T1 allowed Zeus to play Gwen while the Aphelios – Lulu combo was too immobile. Aphelios didn’t even have any dashes like Lucian to self-protect when pressured.
Perhaps T1 wanted to share the damage with Gumayusi, and this is reasonable. But when Gen.G had Kha’Zix, it shattered all of T1’s strategic intentions. The combo could not be executed while Canyon performed excellently, rendering Gumayusi completely harmless. Lacking reliable shields, Gumayusi could not afford to be reckless when facing so many good gap-closing champions from the enemy, which prevented T1 from concluding the match in game 4 and ultimately led to their reverse defeat.