With T1’s defeat against DWG KIA in the Summer 2021 LCK Finals, the 1st and 2nd seed positions from the LCK for Worlds 2021 have been determined. Meanwhile, T1 will participate in the final round of the Regional Qualifiers to see if they will enter Worlds as the 3rd or 4th seed.
Indeed, losing the chance to compete for the 1st seed will bring many concerns for T1 in the upcoming Worlds journey, as they drop straight to group 3 and risk facing the top 1 and top 2 teams from other regions. With MAD Lions’ performance at MSI 2021, LEC proves to be a formidable competitor alongside LPL against the LCK representatives.
If they have to share a group with the 1st and 2nd seeds from LPL and LEC, T1 will step into the group of death at Worlds. As for the level of danger, it remains to be seen if T1 will win in the Regional Qualifiers. If they win and become the 3rd seed, things will be easier, but if they lose and can only go to Worlds as the 4th seed, T1 will face many problems.
First, they will have to participate in the tournament right from the Play-in stage. This challenge might not be too difficult, but the second issue is quite concerning, as being in the 4th seed position means there will be an additional 3rd seed team from a major region that could sneak into T1’s group.
The most “dangerous” scenario that T1 could face at Worlds is landing in a group that includes FunPlus Phoenix, EDG, along with a representative from the 2nd seed group from LEC, or Cloud9. Specifically, it would look like this:
– 1st and 2nd seed: FunPlus Phoenix/Team WE/EDward Gaming or MAD Lions/Fnatic (finals not yet played).
– 3rd seed: Cloud9.
– 4th seed: T1.
It’s still early to assert that FPX will be the LPL Summer 2021 champion, but this is currently the most likely scenario. Even if they don’t win the championship, they have already secured a 2nd seed spot, making it entirely possible for them to share a group with T1.
At that point, this would truly be a group of death for the other 3 names aside from FPX. Fairly speaking, whether or not the Phoenix is crowned LPL champion, their gameplay remains terrifying for every opponent, as just Doinb and Nuguri alone can shatter the top half of any team sharing a group with them in a Bo1 match. Therefore, FPX will definitely be a top contender for a slot in the quarterfinals of this group.
The remaining 3 teams, MAD/FNC, C9, and T1 will compete for the remaining slots. Hypothetically, if T1 loses in the Regional Qualifiers and drops to seed 4, it proves that their gameplay still has many issues. So even though they are rated higher than LEC and LCS, being eliminated by 2 representatives from these regions remains a very present risk.
If T1 is the 4th seed, they are only slightly rated higher than FNC or MAD, but for European representatives, being an underdog is not an issue. As for C9, this team also has a tradition of frequently upsetting expectations when participating in international tournaments. In short, being in seed 4 will expose T1 to the risk of many uncertainties right from the group stage.
In the team’s history, T1 has never finished an international tournament outside the top 4, but that is a story of the past. If they can’t even secure the right to be the 3rd seed, it’s hard to say what will happen to Faker and his teammates at the upcoming Worlds.
Another positive point is that even if they arrive at Worlds as the 4th seed, compared to the previous 2 4th seed teams, MAD Lions and LGD Gaming, they hold more advantages. T1 has far more experience than MAD (the team eliminated in the Play-in at Worlds 2020), and the quality of their roster is also higher than that of LGD (the team eliminated in the group stage).
In summary, the pressure on T1 right now is that they must win in the final Bo5 match in the Regional Qualifiers. Becoming the 3rd seed will resolve many issues regarding both match schedules and the mental state of the players. T1 has every reason to believe they will go far at Worlds, but before that belief becomes a reality, they must at least eliminate all potential risks before heading to Europe.