In the match early on October 22 (Vietnam time), T1 achieved an outstanding victory over Royal Never Give Up with a total score of 3-0. This result surprised many League of Legends fans, especially since RNG was the defending MSI 2022 champion after defeating T1. This loss also sent RNG packing, making them the second LPL team to bid farewell to the World Championship 2022.
The members of T1 had an incredibly impressive performance, and their victory was fully convincing. In all three games, even when RNG took the lead with many advantages, Faker and his teammates maintained their calm and perfect macro play to gradually regain control of the game. Although it was just three brief games, T1 fully demonstrated the qualities that once made SKT T1 the “king” of the League of Legends world.
Notably, alongside the outstanding performance of the young stars like Gumayusi and Zeus, we cannot overlook the fantastic form of Faker – the legend of T1 and the entire League of Legends scene. At just 26 years old, while many peers and even older or younger players have retired or lost their form, Faker remains the spearhead of T1 at Worlds 2022. In the match against RNG, Faker’s Akali was truly a “nightmare” for the LPL representative. Notably, many of T1’s advantages against RNG were thanks to Faker’s extraordinary plays.
After the match, in an interview, Faker provided his insights on the evaluations of the strength of LPL and LCK: “For me, the LCK or LPL region isn’t really that important. The strength of each team is what matters most. And with T1’s current state, I am confident that we can win against any opponent.”
Many believe that Faker’s response was very subtle, accurate, and received much agreement. In fact, the region from which a team comes is no longer very important as regions large and small around the world tend to learn from each other. Therefore, whether a team wins or not depends on the actual strength of that team.
In the semifinals, T1 will enter another “China-Korea showdown” against JD Gaming – the reigning LPL Summer 2022 champions. JDG is definitely a much stronger opponent than RNG, and Faker and his teammates will need to focus even more if they want to secure victory.