A detail that shows T1 is indeed “hiding strategies” at Worlds 2024
Typically, scrims or ranked matches are opportunities for teams to test new strategies. However, in some tournaments like MSI, Worlds, or even domestic leagues like LCK, a team can showcase very unusual strategies during practice. T1 at Worlds 2024 is a prime example.
Recently, T1’s CEO shared insights in an online interview about the team’s scrim win rates over the various Worlds seasons. According to him, in 2022 and 2023, T1’s scrim win rate was as high as 78-80%. But at Worlds 2024, they only achieved a 48% win rate in scrims. This remarkably low figure raises suspicions that T1 is indeed “hiding strategies.”
Perhaps many viewers still remember that in a discussion about T1’s scrim conditions, former EDG coach KenZhu stated that this team practices “very chaotically.” According to the coach from LPL, T1 tends to win or lose very quickly. While they leave some hints, other teams hardly grasp much from T1, except for some obvious information like “Gumayusi and Oner are extremely dangerous and must be completely contained.”
“Ultimately, I think a team like T1 has no obligation to reveal all their strategies during scrims. After all, it’s a strategy in itself,” commented a viewer. Some other comments suggested that T1’s losses stem from them experimenting with overly “strange” compositions.
And T1 has shown that “hiding strategies” can also be a reasonable tactic
In reality, scrims do not fully reflect a team’s strategies or performance. Moreover, teams scrimming against each other in tournaments like MSI, Worlds will also be cautious as their opponents could become future rivals. Therefore, it’s completely understandable that teams do not go all out.
Therefore, some teams may have a very high scrim win rate, but when it comes to actual matches, they may not perform effectively. Conversely, a team with a scrim win rate below 50% could end up being crowned champions.