Faker’s T1 began their title defense journey on a rocky note, suffering a disappointing defeat against DragonX. Even the subsequent 2-1 victories against Hanwha Life Esports and Afreeca Freecs came with heart-stopping moments for fans, as they faced early leads and saw their opponents equalize. It wasn’t until T1 decisively defeated Sandbox Gaming 2-0 that Faker and his friends could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Following yesterday’s convincing match, T1’s Faker shared a lot about their victory, how they plan to play this season, and the strategies they will use against upcoming opponents. Regarding his feelings after the win, Faker expressed great satisfaction with his younger teammates, as they finally secured a convincing Bo3 series – “We are on a three-match winning streak and hope to maintain it. It’s been a while since we won 2-0, so I am extremely pleased.” – Faker shared.
When it comes to the opinion that T1 is changing their playstyle, Faker disagrees and believes the team is simply looking for ways to play better – “I think we haven’t completely changed our main playstyle; the fact that the whole team is playing better and a bit faster is due to each member performing excellently.
We still haven’t reached our highest level of skill, so we will focus on improving this first before moving on to the team’s playstyle.” – Faker praised his teammates.
When asked about the excellent escape at the end of game 2, Faker humbly stated that he didn’t do anything too special; his teammates did everything in that moment – “That slide towards the bird camp in game 2 wasn’t really what I predicted; however, we won because my teammates played extremely well.”
Regarding his next opponent – Damwon Gaming – Faker issued a light warning to player ShowMaker – “This guy has been playing really well recently in both the tournament and solo queue, but we are also playing extremely well. He has shown that he has a wide champion pool, but I have also been practicing a lot of new champions, and there are some unique picks that I might bring out when necessary.” – Faker shared.
ShowMaker has recently emerged as a true monster in solo queue, achieving Challenger rank without playing more than one game on each champion and showcasing his extensive champion pool. It seems that Faker also feels the heat from Damwon Gaming’s mid-laner, so he’s prepared with some “ace up his sleeve” to deploy when necessary.
Besides Damwon Gaming, in week 3 of LCK, T1 will face another tough opponent, Gen.G. With two direct competitors coming up, this week will undoubtedly be a pivotal moment for T1 in their quest for high placements after the group stage. Hopefully, Faker and his teammates will achieve favorable results.