The first day of the Mid-Season Cup 2020 was filled with excitement, highlighted by the clash between World Champion FunPlus Phoenix and the current LCK champion T1. Alongside this was the duel between the two most-watched Mid Laners – Doinb vs Faker.
In this confrontation, Faker’s T1 showcased an astonishingly excellent performance, completely demolishing FPX in an overwhelmingly dominant match with a composition featuring 2 Marksmen and an aggressive playstyle that took everyone by surprise.
However, T1 could not maintain their destructive form in the opening match. The impressive victory against the reigning world champions was all that Faker and his teammates could achieve. In the next two matches, they faced defeats against DAMWON Gaming and notably lost to TOP Esports in the decisive match.
A common factor in both of these losses was T1’s choice of a composition without a Marksman, opting for Yasuo in the bot lane for Teddy. This strategy allowed them to create many advantages in the early game, but the lack of stable damage output in the late game, along with a few individual mistakes, caused T1 to slip away from victory.
As for FunPlus Phoenix and TOP Esports, the two representatives from the LPL continued to demonstrate a higher level compared to their Korean counterparts. Except for FPX’s loss to T1, both teams secured crucial victories to claim their spots in the semifinals.
It’s quite unfortunate for DAMWON, as their only victory inadvertently put both LCK representatives in a tough spot, leading to the overall defeat of Korean teams in Group A. LCK’s hopes will now rest entirely on Group B, which features Gen.G Esports and DragonX.
However, this is not an easy group by any means, as they will be facing the reigning LPL champions – JD Gaming and Invictus Gaming. Even though it’s just a friendly tournament, it would certainly be catastrophic if the remaining two teams from LCK were to meet the same fate as T1 and DWG, turning the Mid-Season Cup 2020 LCK-LPL into a closed tournament for the Chinese teams.
