Faker Expresses Confusion Over the Format of the LCK Cup 2026
In the 2025 season, the LCK Cup system was introduced for the first time, generating high expectations from the League of Legends community in general and in South Korea in particular. The LCK Cup is not yet an official tournament within the largest competitions of professional League of Legends, but it serves as a preparatory event for the First Stand and is where Riot and the LCK organizers will test new changes. However, it seems that the format after two seasons has not satisfied Faker.
Specifically, in a recent stream, Faker was quite surprised to realize that T1 still has to play in the Play-in stage. He raised the issue while interacting with fans: “The Baron team seems to have lost already… I’m starting to wonder if this system still makes sense. And if Baron loses, it looks like we have to play from the Play-in stage, right?”.
According to the current results, the Baron group is losing, and in the upcoming rounds, teams in this group will face very strong opponents from the Elder group – which is a more evenly matched group. Specifically, NS will have to face KT while DNS clashes with BFX. All four teams want to win, but based on their performances so far, NS and DNS clearly find it hard to compete with the two opposing teams.
The LCK Cup Format is Incomplete, but Faker Must Also Blame T1
It can be said that while the format of this season’s LCK Cup has changed, T1 must also take some responsibility themselves. They have the same four wins as Gen.G, but instead of the reigning MSI champions winning with a score of 2-0, T1 has played all three games in 3 out of their 4 matches. The only opponent T1 could defeat with a score of 0-2 is KT. Even the last-placed Elder team, DRX, managed to snag a game win against T1.
With a significantly worse differential, the Baron group is indeed losing. Therefore, the fact that T1 has to play in the Play-in stage is entirely possible and currently the most likely scenario if T1 cannot secure a clean victory against DK or if Gen.G defeats HLE in just three games.