In the last week of February 2022, which was also the 6th week of the LCK Spring 2022 group stage, a “Super Classic” match took place between T1 and DWG KIA. On a day when the T1 players were more focused, and DK had not yet found their footing since nearly a complete roster overhaul, ShowMaker and his teammates could not secure a victory. In fact, ShowMaker could be considered almost “invisible” throughout both games.
Setting aside the off-field controversies, T1 had a solid match. Although there were moments when ShowMaker or Canyon took the lead, Faker and his teammates quickly regained control of the game and emerged victorious. It can be said that T1 currently possesses both the strength and the composure of a championship-contending team.
However, ShowMaker does not believe that T1 is excessively strong. Specifically, in a post-match interview after facing Kwangdong Freecs recently, the mid-laner for DK shared some thoughts on their defeat to T1 in the second round of the LCK Spring 2022 group stage: “We did not play well at all. It’s hard to express fully, but in summary, we did not perform as required in crucial situations. The match really wasn’t difficult, but our mentality was greatly affected, and their (T1’s) momentum made us less confident.”
Additionally, ShowMaker also stated that DK’s defeat was partly due to their bot lane’s lack of experience. “I think they (DK’s bot lane) are still a bit inexperienced in the laning phase, calculating resource trades with the opponent.”
It seems that ShowMaker is still not 100% satisfied after the defeat to T1. As a player who always aims for great goals and has frequently triumphed over T1 in the past, DK’s losses in both encounters against Faker and his teammates are hard to accept. However, currently, DK and T1 are at two extremes in terms of results and performance, and ShowMaker himself is also facing issues. If given another chance to meet, DK needs to perform better to avoid repeating the poor results against T1 recently.