On August 12th, Gen.G impressively defeated T1 with a score of 3-2 in the winner’s bracket finals of the LCK Summer 2023 qualifier. Besides advancing to the grand finals, this victory also officially secured Gen.G a spot in the 2023 World Championship. This can be considered a significant win for Gen.G at this moment.
On the T1 side, the team faced considerable mixed opinions regarding their champion selections in the decisive matches. Particularly in game 4, T1 chose Vayne, a champion that is difficult to have a significant impact in team fights. However, Gen.G player Delight spoke up to defend T1’s choice.
“To be honest, Peyz and I were somewhat worried when T1 picked Vayne. This champion is a strong counter to Zeri and Alistar (the two champions Gen.G chose for the bot lane in game 4) during the laning phase. Therefore, we had to play defensively and look for opportunities in team fights,” Delight shared when asked about T1’s choice of Vayne.
Theoretically, Vayne is a champion with a good skill set to counter Zeri and Alistar. Vayne’s Q ability allows her to dodge Zeri’s skills and reduce incoming damage. Meanwhile, Vayne’s E ability – Condemn – can break the chain of crowd control skills that Alistar typically uses.
However, this champion has a major weakness: damage relies entirely on basic attacks. With an average attack range, Vayne finds it challenging to position herself in team fights. In reality, Gumayusi with Vayne had almost no opportunity to deal damage when Gen.G had too many skills to engage and control from a distance.
Perhaps the recent defeat against Gen.G is an important lesson for the T1 team. They need to carefully consider their champion selections if they do not want to face disadvantages right from the start of the match. Hopefully, T1 will soon overcome this defeat against Gen.G to prepare well for their upcoming opponent.