One of the most remarkable events of 2023 must surely be the resurgence and crowning of T1 at the World Championship that year. Before the tournament, T1 was still somewhat highly regarded, but no one dared to think that T1 would defeat all four representatives from the LPL to become champions. In fact, T1 was not even among the top three candidates for the 2023 Worlds cup, as there were still Bilibili Gaming, Gen.G, and especially JD Gaming – the team that dominated three out of four annual tournaments in the professional League of Legends scene.
And if we had to say, this journey began with the choice of their fierce rival KT Rolster – a familiar opponent of T1 in the “Telecom War” matches. At that time, KT, as the top team in the group stage, did not hesitate to choose T1 – an opponent they had completely defeated in both matches during the Summer 2023 group stage. However, perhaps the audience did not expect that this choice would become a disaster for KT that lasted all the way to the 2023 Worlds and open up a “miraculous journey” for T1.
Bdd himself, in a statement ahead of the LCK Spring 2024 recently, candidly spoke about his team’s choice of T1 last year: “Looking back at that time, I would never choose them (T1). I was very confident against both T1 and Hanwha Life Esports, but I think I was a bit arrogant. If I could go back, I would not choose T1, that’s for sure.”
However, in reality, KT’s choice of T1 at that time was completely understandable. It was not just Bdd or the players’ confidence, but a victory at that time against T1 would have best prepared KT both mentally and in terms of results for their journey to the LCK Summer 2023 championship. Yet, no one anticipated that a T1 that had been completely defeated by KT in the group stage would perform so outstandingly. And not only KT, but from that moment on, only Gen.G could defeat Faker and his teammates.
In the 2024 season, KT of Bdd has also undergone many changes in their roster. It remains unclear whether this new team will achieve the same results as they did in 2023, but if given the opportunity, Bdd may need to consider carefully before picking any opponent, not just T1.