Entering the match against Gen.G at MSI 2023, T1 may have been the team under more pressure. They had lost in 4 consecutive finals from MSI 2022 to now. Not to mention, 3 out of the 4 teams that defeated T1 were from LCK – where Faker and his teammates are always considered “invincible”. Among them, Gen.G alone had defeated T1 in 2 domestic finals. Another loss would severely impact the mentality and journey of T1 at MSI 2023.
After much effort, T1 finally secured victory with a score of 3-2. This result was unbelievable for anyone watching from the start, as Gen.G managed to take the match to a decisive 5th game. In fact, in game 3, Chovy and his teammates could only turn the tide thanks to Chovy’s “godly” play with the Zhonya’s Hourglass.
However, defeating Gen.G in game 5 helped T1 break a “dismal record” that has haunted this team since 2017. Specifically, since 2017, this is the first time T1 has won a BO5 match when it has gone to the 5th game. The team that initiated the “T1 cannot win if the match goes to game 5” streak was G2 Esports. That was the loss to G2 at MSI 2019.
With this unwanted record now ended, T1 is highly regarded by the League of Legends community at MSI 2023. However, many still remember that T1 has a “losing history” in their last 4 finals. In all 4 of their losses, T1 was always the favored team. They even lost to DRX – an opponent considered very weak.
For now, it can be said that the mentality of the players has been much more relaxed. However, the match against Gen.G also revealed some areas T1 needs to improve. Faker and his teammates are just 2 matches away from the MSI 2023 championship. And surely T1 does not want “history to repeat itself”, especially since they have prepared as thoroughly as possible for this title.