In the history of League of Legends professional scene, many teams have had eras of dominance. However, as with all normal laws of life, these teams are eventually replaced by stronger ones when their players decline in performance and no worthy names step in to take their place. Notably, among these, it can be said that SKT T1 is a special lineup as they hold the most titles in the League of Legends scene, yet they have not maintained a consistent roster for more than two consecutive seasons, at least up until 2017.
Recently, Riot posed the question “What is the strongest lineup in League of Legends history?” to the global League of Legends community, and as always, it sparked a lot of debate. Notably, among the options suggested by the audience, the most mentioned is the current T1 lineup, which is also the only lineup that T1 has maintained for more than a year and especially remains unchanged after winning the Worlds. This lineup is currently one of the “rare gems” in international professional League of Legends. This is because changing lineups after reaching the pinnacle of glory is necessary to motivate for the future. But in this season, T1 has done the opposite.
The current T1 lineup is often mentioned
However, this choice has also sparked intense debates, especially when comparing this team’s performance over many consecutive domestic seasons. Specifically, aside from LCK Spring 2022 and the group stage of Summer in the same year, Spring 2023, T1 has only truly dominated in the recent Worlds. Otherwise, they have faced numerous difficulties, especially during the period when Faker was injured. Not to mention, T1 currently often fails against Gen.G, most notably in their recent humiliating defeat in the return match of the LCK Spring 2024 group stage.
Moreover, a strong team must also be prepared for unforeseen situations. But when Faker is absent, the other four members also lose their form. Therefore, it is completely understandable that the audience is divided into different opinions.
In reality, it will be difficult to find any lineup deserving of being called the strongest in history, even teams like SKT T1 or Damwon Gaming, G2 Esports… at their peak. Because there will always be teams hungry to defeat the “giants” and they can indeed achieve surprising feats. But it is precisely because there is no single strongest team that creates the competition and allure for every match in the professional League of Legends scene.