T1 entered the fourth day of the Rumble Stage with a gradually recovering mindset after victories against weaker opponents, Evil Geniuses and PSG Talon, on May 22 (Vietnam time) prior. However, the issues for Faker and his teammates from previous losses, even when winning against PSG, still left T1 fans feeling uneasy. If PSG can pose challenges for T1, then the situation is indeed concerning for Faker and his teammates.
However, when facing EG – the opponent they had just defeated in the previous match, T1 was unable to replicate a favorable result. It was the same old “script” that had caused T1 to fail continuously in recent days: Faker and his teammates had a significant advantage from the start to the mid-game, but after the laning phase, T1 couldn’t engage in team fights against their opponents.
Moreover, T1 still “sank” at Baron with two disastrous calls that allowed EG to regain complete control of the game. After the second Baron attempt, EG officially received a massive “snowball”. Ultimately, T1 kept losing despite putting up a fight, and surprisingly, EG officially claimed victory over the LCK representative.
The unexpected victory against the North American representative truly left the LoL community in shock and excitement. While fans of Western LoL erupted with joy after EG’s achievement, the Korean LoL community and T1 fans worldwide were left surprised and disappointed. This was not the first time T1 had lost to a team using a team fight strategy.
Furthermore, T1 fans expressed confusion as T1 continuously pressured Baron while EG had too much area-of-effect damage and excelled in narrow terrain fights. Additionally, there were comments regarding the performances of T1 members, notably ADC Gumayusi.
This defeat is not fundamentally a disaster for T1. However, for T1 fans and possibly the players themselves, this loss feels like a slap to T1’s pride. Moreover, Faker and his teammates repeated the inherent mistakes from previous matches. If they do not rectify these issues soon, even if they reach the semifinals, not many will believe in their ability to compete for the MSI 2022 championship against opponents like G2 or RNG.