A few days ago, T1 faced off against Kwangdong Freecs in the LCK Summer 2022. Before the match, almost no one believed that KDF would emerge victorious. Meanwhile, both experts and fans were eagerly waiting to see how Faker and his teammates would extend their historic unbeaten streak.
However, T1 lost. On a day where KDF unexpectedly performed brilliantly, Faker and his teammates were lacking compared to their usual selves. Although T1 still had the advantage, they could not “snowball” as they typically do. With a 1-2 defeat to KDF, Faker and his teammates also saw their historic unbeaten streak of 24, set by the LCK Spring 2022 champions, come to an end.
With KDF cutting the streak short, T1’s unbeaten record cannot extend any further. Therefore, it can be concluded that, at least for now, T1 will not be able to break the record for the longest unbeaten streak in history during domestic league group stages, a record currently held by Edward Gaming (EDG), the team from the LPL and reigning champions of the 2021 World Championship.
Specifically, from the Spring 2016 to Spring 2017 period, EDG had an unbeaten streak in group stage matches that reached 26. This record could have been even more glorious if EDG had not fallen to the “Royal Never Give Up” squad with a score of 1-3 in the LPL Spring 2016 finals. However, even considering only the group stages, EDG’s achievement is incredibly impressive. Notably, in the EDG lineup that achieved this feat, there was Deft, Faker’s rival and close friend. Additionally, there was also PawN, another fierce opponent of the “Demon King”.
Nevertheless, T1’s “unprecedented” streak remains a milestone that few can reach, at least in the near future. Moreover, this defeat may help T1 identify their shortcomings, allowing them to improve and strive for higher goals, specifically the championship title of LCK Summer 2022 and the upcoming 2022 World Championship.