During the opening ceremony of the 4 LPL representatives participating in Worlds 2021, the Chinese media conducted some short interviews with players and team members, ahead of their journey to conquer the third Summoner’s Cup in the history of the region.
Among them, there was a common question for all 4 teams, which was “Which opponent are you most looking forward to meeting at Worlds 2021?” And perhaps the answers from the stars of the “Four Pillars of LPL” surprised many, as in most responses, the opponent they were looking forward to was not DWG KIA – the strongest team in the world at the moment, but rather a “third seed” team – T1.
First up was EDG, with support Meiko stating: “The opponent I want to face the most is T1’s bot lane duo.” Meanwhile, Flandre openly expressed his desire to join Faker’s fan club: “As a professional player, Faker is my idol, and there is nothing better than competing against him in my first Worlds appearance.”
From FPX, jungler Tian also shared that he really wanted to challenge the young player Oner from T1, because “I feel he is a jungler with an extremely good mindset.” While Ale from LNG was very eager to go up against Canna – one of the best top laners in the LCK last summer.
Lastly is RNG – an opponent that could be described as “archrivals, deep debts like the sea” with T1. The “familiar faces” like Ming and Xiaohu are very eager to meet Faker again to repay the debts accumulated over the years. Xiaohu even hopes that the coaching staff will give him the chance to return to the mid lane if RNG faces T1.
RNG’s manager – Shawn also affirmed that it would be meaningless if RNG and T1 could not meet, as this matchup has almost become a symbol of the Worlds whenever the two teams have the opportunity to participate together: “Since T1 and RNG are both third seeds, we cannot meet in the group stage; however, this tournament would lose much of its significance if the two teams cannot face each other at least once.”
In fact, it is very understandable why LPL teams want to face T1. Firstly, although DK is the defending champion, T1 holds the record for the most Worlds championships, and “facing and defeating the greatest” is something every player hopes for. Moreover, aside from FPX, the other 3 teams have many “familiar faces” from Faker. While younger and less experienced players still regard the Demon King as a living legend they long to face at least once.
Additionally, the technical aspect also makes teams less enthusiastic about meeting DWG KIA. Any LPL team sharing a group with DK poses certain risks, especially when this year’s Worlds is predicted to have 2 “death groups”. Facing them in the knockout stage is something no one can guarantee a good result against the current king of League of Legends. So, “avoiding elephants is not a bad choice” is also a good strategy.
With this year’s Worlds featuring 4 LCK representatives and 4 LPL representatives, if everything goes smoothly, meaning HLE and LNG both advance from the Play-in stage, then each of the 4 groups at Worlds will feature 1 Chinese team and 1 Korean team. This means one of the mentioned players will surely “fulfill their wish” to face T1.