On October 28, T1 became the next team to secure a spot in the quarterfinals of the World Championship (Worlds) 2023. To achieve this, Faker and his teammates delivered a convincing 2-0 victory over Bilibili Gaming (BLG). This match also helped T1 somewhat overcome their defeat at MSI 2023 against the same BLG.
Fairly speaking, BLG did show some bright spots in this match, particularly with Bin in the Top Lane. He demonstrated excellent lane control and was a key player for BLG during this game. However, that was not enough for BLG to defeat T1, and they were forced to accept falling into a group of teams with a 2-2 record.
In fact, after the match ended, NRG player Dhokla made some harsh comments about Bin’s Top Lane performance. “Playing in the same position as Bin, I can somewhat sympathize with him as he created a significant advantage early in the game. Unfortunately, BLG lost this match because their Top Lane didn’t contribute much to the game,” Dhokla from NRG shared.
If you closely followed the second game between BLG and T1, you might find Dhokla’s remarks quite reasonable. Although Bin took an early lead against Zeus in the laning phase, he could not translate this into an advantage for the team. His Jax could push lanes well but struggled to engage in team fights.
Meanwhile, T1 operated their Marksman composition almost perfectly in game two. Tahm Kench in Keria’s hands always positioned himself to protect the Marksman with his ultimate ability. Even Oner and Zeus did an excellent job of separating the opponents, preventing Bin from approaching T1’s carries. As a result, Bin had no opportunities to threaten Gumayusi in this match.
Fortunately for BLG, they still continue to stay in Worlds 2023 after securing an important victory against G2 Esports. However, BLG needs to quickly improve the performance of Elk and ON in the Bot Lane. If they continue to rely solely on Bin as they did in the last match, BLG will struggle to achieve good results at this year’s Worlds.