Only a few days remain until T1 officially faces JD Gaming in what is arguably the most important match of their season. As many experts and fans of League of Legends agree, the team that comes out on top in this encounter will be one step closer to claiming the championship. This is because both JDG and T1 are the toughest opponents in the semifinals for any team in the Weibo Gaming/Bilibili Gaming group. JDG is currently the top contender for the title, while T1 boasts the “perpetual annihilator of the LPL“.
Recently, rumors about the side selection (blue team – red team) between the two teams have stirred the League of Legends audience. However, even after confirmation that the side selection has not yet occurred, many fans remain anxious. Perhaps many still remember: the side selection significantly impacts the match outcomes. Specifically, there has been a clear statistic showing that blue teams have an 80% win rate (as of October 23).
But this is precisely what makes T1’s position a “dangerous weapon”. T1 fans can rest easy knowing that among the four teams in the semifinals, T1 has the highest win rate on the red side, reaching 80% (4 wins – 1 loss). Meanwhile, JDG closely follows with a 75% win rate (3 wins – 1 loss). The team with the lowest win rate on the red side is BLG, with only a 33% win rate when playing on the red side.
T1’s success primarily stems from their matches against BLG and LNG, where they only played one game on the blue side (the first game against BLG), with the rest on the red side. T1 is also one of the most effective teams playing on the red side, largely thanks to their diverse champion pool. Consequently, T1 is unafraid to utilize unconventional champion matchups and has solid counters against their opponents.
It can be said that choosing between red or blue sides will naturally provide a certain advantage. However, T1’s very high win rate also indicates that they are genuinely unafraid of their opponents choosing the blue side. In fact, T1 might find it easier to execute their gameplay as they did when they annihilated LNG in the quarterfinals.