Clozer – the young talent born in 2003 from T1 made a stunning debut at LCK in the match against KT Rolster recently, stepping in to replace the legendary Faker in the mid lane. He earned the MVP title in his very first game on the professional stage with Zoe, boasting a KDA of 5/0/4, significantly contributing to the second game to help T1 secure a 2-0 victory.
For those who may not know, T1’s Clozer is one of the “monster rookies” of the 2K generation in the LCK region. Like Ellim and Gumayusi, Clozer also boasts a Challenger account in Korea, especially impressive considering he is only… 14 years old. Although he carries the heavy responsibility of competing in the place of the “living legend” Faker, Clozer has indeed proven that his 3-year contract with T1 is completely worth it. If you’re not convinced, readers can check out Clozer’s highlights at Korean ranks to see how champions like Akali, Zoe, and Irelia have made him a “mid lane beast”.
After an incredibly impressive debut, Clozer is a hot topic of discussion across various forums, including Reddit. While Clozer’s entry into the lineup was largely due to Faker’s health situation, many believe T1 should have fielded this mid-laner earlier, especially considering Faker will have to enlist soon.
– Clozer is playing great, I really want to see how he performs against the top 3 teams in the LCK.
– I think his performance against AFs will determine whether he can continue playing against DWG/DRX.
– Why does it have to be like that? I think T1 will continue to play with Clozer at least until he loses his first match.
– T1’s goal is to reach the Playoffs, solve their issues, and test Clozer in challenging matches. They could let Clozer play 1 game to see what he can do against DRX and DWG.
– You talk as if you’re the coach of T1!
– Actually, Coach Kim did say that. He wants his players to gain experience rather than crush opponents without learning anything…
– It’s just the first steps of a young boy. SB and KT only ranked 6th and 7th in the LCK. The next step will be AFs. Clozer is indeed playing well, but Chovy, Showmaker, and Bdd will eat him alive!
– I think this is a positive thing for both Faker and T1. I believe Faker will take this positively and recognize his situation (I’m not sure how Clozer has impacted Cuzz, but Cuzz seems to be playing much more confidently now). Perhaps, this is the start of T1’s rise.
– It feels like Cuzz feels the need to put pressure on the lane with a rookie on the team, while with Faker, he played more passively and waited for something to happen before reacting.
– It seems like Cuzz and Effort are the main shot-callers, they are doing quite well and are very confident.
I think this is better than letting Faker call the shots; Faker can focus on mechanics and apply pressure on his lane.
– Or it seems T1 is experimenting with a different way of shot-calling.
– I still think T1 has faced issues in recent years due to Faker’s shot-calling. In the past, Marin and maybe Wolf were willing to challenge his opinions, while Benji would be neutral. But since Faker became the captain, T1’s shot-calling has been noticeably less stable.
– I think having Faker on the bench is good for the mentality of the entire team. When Faker is in the team, they play under pressure: “I have to watch everything he does because he is the greatest player in history; I can’t mess things up”. Their mentality will be completely different when playing with a rookie.
– Huh? Isn’t Faker on the bench because he has mental health issues? Seems like that was his choice.
– I think T1 is playing better because the team’s mentality has been relieved with Faker on the bench, rather than because of the overall gameplay.
– Faker will soon have to go to military service as well. Allowing Clozer to learn to replace Faker is crucial for T1. Having a mid-lane duo is also very interesting to watch. I think T1 should have done this since 2018 (oh, skip Pirean).
– I don’t think this will work in the Playoffs and Worlds, but in the long run, if they implement this, I believe T1 will soon return to their number one position.
– Can someone tell me what the hell happened to Cuzz when Faker was on the bench? He played aggressively and still farmed a ton of minions?
– Cuzz received buffs from Canna and Clozer.
– Now they’ll need Crazzy, Crisp, and Coach cvMax to reach 100% strength.
– The new version of Faker: Caker?
– Canna, Cuzz, Caker, Caddy, Ceffort, and Coach “Cim”, while T1 becomes C1.
– Cuzz once said that Faker is always the one who informs every detail about opponents in the game, no matter how small, and always keeps everyone updated throughout the match. This helps Cuzz focus better on his role. And previously, Faker was always the one informing the team about the enemy’s status.
When calling the team, almost everyone in T1 participates fully. So don’t think that Faker’s shot-calling affects T1’s gameplay. That’s not true at all.
– T1 is indeed playing better, but not just because of their mid-laner; their spirit has improved a lot, and I hope they can maintain that spirit in the Playoffs when Faker returns.
– Clozer is old enough to compete officially; letting him play shows that T1 really wants to keep him for the future, and he will replace Faker one day.
– Faker has also been playing quite poorly recently. It would be great for him to have some time to rest before the Playoffs and Worlds, where he will have to play like the Faker of yesterday.
T1 has indeed played better. However, KT or SB are not the right tests for this lineup. The match against DWG on August 20 will truly verify T1’s strength.
– I hope Clozer will perform well against DWG to put pressure on Faker; both will compete and improve for Worlds 2020.