Faker Bitterly Reflects on T1
Recently, T1 suffered a “shocking” defeat against Nongshim RedForce – a team that, while quite decent, has also shown inconsistent performance this season. Although this loss does not affect T1’s ranking or their chances of making the playoffs, such defeats only increase the anxiety of the team’s fans. Furthermore, T1 has started the playoffs with two consecutive losses – a highly concerning situation. During the post-match interview, Faker himself admitted: T1 is unstable in every position.
Accordingly, Faker acknowledged: “We are lacking in every aspect, including form, overall performance, and display… Overall, we have been inferior in every way.” In fact, Faker’s comments are entirely accurate when looking at the match against NS, particularly in the second game.
In that match, it felt like every position of T1 easily crumbled, especially in the Top Lane. With Kingen completely dominating, it made it much easier for NS to operate. Meanwhile, after Doran was “shut down,” other players like Faker and Gumayusi had little space to play, making the defeat understandable.
Faker and T1 Have Reached a Point of No Return
In the playoffs, teams in the lower bracket like T1 will go directly to Round 3. However, the issue is that all six participating teams will only have one chance to compete for two spots at MSI 2025. Therefore, T1 finds themselves in a position with no way back. If they want to go to China, they must win regardless of who their opponent is.
Losses like the one against NS cannot be repeated. While T1 will still participate in EWC 2025, if they miss MSI 2025, it will be a very hard defeat to accept. Faker himself does not have much time left, and if any slip-up leads to T1’s absence from MSI, the loss will not only affect T1 but also Riot and the entire League of Legends community, especially the fans of this team.