Will Faker and His Teammates “Revisit Old Habits”?
It can be said that in recent years, specifically since 2019, T1 has almost always faced difficulties every time they enter the Summer season for various reasons. At times, even Faker made audiences believe that he was past his prime and was pushed to the bench by T1’s coaches. However, aside from the crisis season in 2020, since 2021, all of T1’s Summer splits have had one thing in common: they struggle throughout the group stage, explode in the playoffs, and then achieve results ranging from acceptable to very good at Worlds. Notably, the 2023 World Championship title came after a Summer group stage where T1 was even considered unlikely to qualify for the biggest international tournament in the League of Legends scene.
As of now, Faker and his teammates have also encountered many challenges, especially after returning from the 2024 Esports World Cup.
However, this is not the first time T1 has faced difficulties. And T1’s goal in the group stage was achieved early, one match before the end, as they secured a playoff spot. Notably, in several recent matches, T1 has boldly experimented with many new champions. The results have been mixed, but overall, a daring T1 making “strange” choices is a familiar sight to fans, reminiscent of their performances in the Spring 2022 and 2023 World Championship.
In fact, according to LPL media, the current period can be seen as Faker and his teammates having overcome the usual difficulties. Despite facing many defeats in the latter half of the season, the foundation of the championship team still remains, and experience will aid them in their current poor form. However, importantly, as many T1 fans have pointed out in previous matches: T1 needs to temporarily set aside the need to always find ways to counter the champions that are too strong according to the meta and instead focus on maximizing their strengths. In the match against Kwangdong Freecs, they managed to limit Aurora’s power. But the issue is that BuLLdoG cannot compare to the likes of Chovy, Zeka, or ShowMaker.
Based on past experience, T1 usually performs well in BO5 matches. Their competitive experience, mentality, and champion pool allow them to make diverse choices. This is also a fluctuating phase for many players like Chovy and Zeka in the past. Therefore, as long as Faker and his teammates maintain a solid mentality, it seems that everything will resolve favorably.