In the weekend match of the sixth week of the LCK Summer 2023, T1 faced off against Dplus KIA (DK) – a rival with a long history. In the first round, DK was completely dominated by T1, just like in their previous matches since 2022. However, there was one significant difference: T1 in the second round no longer had Faker, and many DK fans believed in a simple victory for their team.
However, the reality turned out to be completely opposite. Although T1 did not have Faker, Poby was gradually adjusting to the LCK, and T1 found some strategies to overcome the tough phase. Moreover, T1 had a psychological advantage after just defeating Nongshim RedForce to regain their morale. The match was extremely difficult for DK. In fact, if it weren’t for Poby’s mistakes in game 1 and significant advantages that couldn’t be compensated in game 2, DK would have been the team to lose this match.
Many DK fans were astonished to see their team struggle against a T1 without Faker. Even when facing the renowned ShowMaker, Poby in game 1 had the most advantages. In fact, if not for a few seconds of distraction at the end of game 1, DK would have faced defeat with almost overwhelming advantages from T1. In game 2, despite leading by over 11k gold at one point, DK played as if they were the team trailing and continuously had their attacks thwarted by T1. It was only thanks to the second Elder Dragon that DK managed to win.
Witnessing their team struggle so much, many DK fans felt that the team was just lucky to win. One blunt opinion stated, “That’s Poby – a rookie born in 2006 playing for a team near the bottom of the LCK CL. If that were Faker, DK would definitely have been crushed. If T1 is struggling this much, then even making it to the qualifiers seems unlikely.”
Indeed, DK did not have an impressive victory over T1 despite the score being 2-0 for ShowMaker and his teammates. Too many issues arose, and perhaps T1 has the right to be proud as they made DK sweat to secure a win in this matchup despite being understrength.