In the opening match of the LCK Spring 2022 after the Lunar New Year break, T1 was expected to continue their undefeated streak established in the first three weeks of competition. Their opponent, Faker and his teammates, was only Hanwha Life Esports, who had parted ways with most of their key players after the recent offseason transfer. Furthermore, HLE was also struggling with a record of 2 wins – 4 losses, and an easy victory for T1 was what almost everyone predicted.
However, reality proved that HLE was not an easy opponent at all. In the first game, HLE maintained a balance with T1 for most of the match. And when they fought back at the end of the game, Zeri, with “200 years of game experience” in the hands of SamD, proved to be superior to the “400 years” consisting of Gwen and Aphelios on T1’s side. HLE surprisingly took the lead 1-0.
Moving into the second game, T1 once again demonstrated the prowess of a team that had already achieved 6 consecutive undefeated matches. With a highly versatile Tahm Kench in the hands of Keria, T1’s carries were able to play the game, and immediately, HLE revealed numerous weaknesses. T1 easily brought the match back to balance just after 25 minutes of play. In fact, AD Carry Gumayusi didn’t have to be taken down even once throughout the game.
In the deciding game 3, HLE once again maintained a balance with T1. While Faker didn’t show much, Zeus was continuously exploited, all of T1’s hopes rested on the bot duo Gumayusi – Keria. However, HLE’s players also noticeably increased in strength. Even though they faced some difficulties, HLE was still “handicapped” by T1 with 4 Dragons and Gwen was incredibly fed in DuDu’s hands with the Dragon Soul. The only problem was that in the decisive team fight, OnFleek mismanaged and made a mistake. T1 did not miss the opportunity to punish their opponents, bringing home a hard-fought seventh consecutive victory.
With this victory, T1 continues to hold the top spot while putting immense pressure on their next opponent – Gen.G Esports. As for HLE, they have shown a completely different face compared to their previous selves and almost caused an “earthquake” on the very first match day of the LCK Spring 2022 after the Lunar New Year break. However, T1 has proven their strength, resilience, and is the most promising candidate for this Spring Championship.