In the match against Nongshim RedForce on January 27 (Vietnam time), T1 really faced a lot of difficulties. Besides the fact that the NS players were truly high quality, it must be noted that some positions of T1 were not performing at their usual max ping level. Most notably, one name nearly disappeared throughout the 3 games, only starting to make an impact in the middle and late stages of game 3: AD Carry Gumayusi.
With the current meta focusing on the bot lane, Gumayusi’s inability to showcase his usual form truly caused T1 countless difficulties. Compared to Ghost from NS, Gumayusi did not demonstrate his quality, especially when NS made the surprising pick of Blitzcrank in game 3. Gumayusi’s continuous deaths made it difficult for T1 to snowball effectively, and if it weren’t for the outstanding performances of Oner, Zeus, Faker, and Keria, NS could have achieved something significant.
After the match, Gumayusi admitted that most of the blame lies with him: “Fortunately, we still won, but I played poorly today. In the early stages, I felt okay, but then I felt like my brain just stopped working. I couldn’t read the game, not even how to deal with the opponent. Maybe it’s because I slept too much. I was really tired and slept for 12 hours. During the match, I felt like my brain had also fallen asleep.”
With the bot lane becoming increasingly crucial, T1’s opponents like Gen.G Esports, DWG KIA, and NS have quality bot laners that require Gumayusi to stay fully focused in every match. Keria has consistently maintained great form, while T1’s AD Carry – Gumayusi always leaves fans worried. His talent is beyond question. When Gumayusi is at his peak, T1 can obliterate any opponent. But when this AD Carry “sneezes”, Faker and the team can face numerous difficulties.
In particular, recently, Gumayusi has made some confident “early trash talk”. His confidence is necessary but also causes many fans to worry that he will face backlash from “early trash talk”. Back in Summer 2020, when he just asserted that he and Keria were the strongest bot lane in the world, Gumayusi’s performance plummeted, and he had to give way to veteran Teddy until game 3 of the LCK Summer 2021 finals to return.