For those who may not know, according to a recent statistic, the champion pool that Faker has used in professional play has reached 43, with Azir being the most frequently showcased champion. Many believe that Azir in Faker’s hands is always a force to be reckoned with, making opponents wary no matter who they are. This was proven in the first game of the BO3 series between T1 and Gen.G yesterday. Despite losing the mid tower and being at a disadvantage, Faker’s Azir maintained a significant lead in minion count over his counterpart Bdd.
In the second game, Faker proactively switched to Twisted Fate, picking him in the first slot, while Bdd from Gen.G immediately chose Azir, hoping to make an impact later in the game. From this moment, the community was eager for a “skill showdown” between the two mid-laners, but the odds were heavily in favor of Faker.
Right from the laning phase, Bdd’s Azir continuously pushed minions, avoiding too much pressure and allowing Clid to move flexibly between both sides of the map. However, fate was on T1’s side, as Clid’s daring jungle invade at 2:04 earned them first blood thanks to Faker’s decisive Flash Gold Card. In this situation, even while being pushed in lane and positioned on the right side, Faker quickly moved in to assist, while Bdd reacted too late, arriving just as Clid was taken down.
Following this, with an existing advantage, Cuzz moved to the top lane intending to gank Rascal but was spotted, immediately facing a counter-gank. Canna was low on health and had little advantage against a Mordekaiser, yet once again, Faker demonstrated why he chose TF with a textbook teleport followed by a perfectly executed Gold Card.
Despite moving much more than Bdd and frequently being pressured in lane, Faker’s minion count remained solid, only trailing by 1-2 creeps.
Faker’s decisiveness and willingness to use his ultimate was further showcased in a skirmish in the bot lane not long after. At this point, T1 was in a 3v2 situation, with Cuzz’s Sett having caught Ruler and securing a favorable gank, but Faker still “let me help, let me help” with a perfectly timed Destiny, also taking down Kellin, racking up four… assists in the process. Meanwhile, Bdd was still… farming in the mid lane, trying to take the first turret with Clid’s help and the Rift Herald but failed due to Cuzz’s Flash-E interruption.
Many believe that Bdd’s Azir was truly… ineffective in this game when his first ultimate attempt on Faker missed completely. As soon as Faker saw Azir’s hand motion signaling the ultimate, he quickly flashed away. Even in the final moments, as T1 stormed the Nexus, Bdd was still trying to take down the second turret in the top lane, resulting in a late recall and… being taken down shortly after.
From that point on, the snowball initiated by Faker and his teammates became unstoppable; wherever there was a fight, no matter how small, Faker was ready to use his ultimate and even teleport to support his teammates. By the end of the match, Faker achieved a perfect KDA of 6/0/9.
Interestingly, while all other team members tried to stay alive, Effort had some memorable moments. The first was when he willingly threw himself into Azir’s attacks while barely alive, and the second time (again) he tanked a turret too much, securing a 100% death rate for the entire team. That was also the only kill for Bdd throughout the entire game.
Bonus for readers: some pictures of Faker – Azir after the matches:
