On the afternoon of March 11 (Vietnam time), T1 faced off against Kwangdong Freecs in the second round of the LCK Spring 2022 group stage. While Faker and his teammates were on a 14-game unbeaten streak, KDF was showing signs of revival after a tough start. Notably, Teddy, Ellim, and Hoit had the chance to reunite with their former team. In the first round, KDF could not create any surprises, and the T1 veterans performed rather unimpressively.
However, in game 1, KDF proved that their performance in the first and second rounds was starkly different. Teddy and FATE had an excellent game. In fact, Teddy was responsible for most of KDF’s kills. But what set T1 apart was Keria. The “Super Support” of the LCK had a stellar game as well. Keria protected Gumayusi, initiated fights, and was also crucial in shutting down veteran Teddy, leading T1 to victory in game 1.
It was thought that KDF would collapse in game 2 after being dominated by T1 in game 1. However, on the contrary, Teddy and his teammates, especially FATE, continued to perform well. Although Teddy wasn’t as strong as in game 1, KDF had an outstanding FATE playing Ryze. And when Gumayusi lost the “protection” of Keria, he could no longer play comfortably. KDF equalized in the match after a decisive Baron.
Moving to game 3, once again, T1’s bot duo made their mark, and this time Gumayusi shone. After just 10 minutes of play, “Faker’s nephew” had 5 kills and only went down once. Gumayusi completed 2 major items within 14 minutes. The T1 members led their opponents by nearly 7k gold before the end of the laning phase. Even though Faker “learned” from KT Rolster’s AD Carry Aiming with some “heroic” dives into KDF’s lineup, Gumayusi and Oner delivered the damage. T1 officially defeated KDF despite Teddy and his teammates putting up a strong fight.
With this victory, T1 officially broke the nearly 7-year record set by SKT T1 back in Summer 2015. Additionally, Kai’Sa became the 71st champion that Faker has played mid – a number that perhaps no mid-laner in the world can surpass.
Ahead of T1 are Fredit BRION and DRX – two formidable teams, but for now, it can be said that Faker and his teammates are in an excellent position to become the first team in LCK and League of Legends history to finish the group stage undefeated at 100%.