T1 only needs one more match to secure a spot in the playoffs and maintain their position in the top 4. While it seemed that T1 could accomplish their most crucial goal of the group stage after last week’s matches, a small slip-up has delayed T1’s plans, leaving fans anxious. However, Kwangdong Freecs is not too difficult of an opponent, and T1 just needs one more victory. Yet, the match between T1 and KDF also witnessed some tough moments for Faker and his teammates.
KDF is a team that still has hopes of advancing to the playoffs, which is why they fought very hard. However, in reality, T1 made things somewhat difficult for themselves during the draft phase. Clearly, Faker didn’t need to continuously use Yone—a champion that requires extremely quick hands to execute combos effectively. This was proven when Faker returned to his familiar playmaking champion, Azir, and T1 won almost every skirmish. In fact, many fans have even sent requests to T1: “Now that we’re in the playoffs, we need to ‘bury’ Faker’s Yone, Zeus’s Twisted Fate, and Gumayusi’s Senna to secure victory! Go T1!”
In reality, T1 has often sought to counter the meta in recent years, and that may be the biggest reason why T1 did not ban Aurora—a very strong champion at the moment (2 games for KDF, 1 game for Zeus) in all three matches. Furthermore, Yone is also a champion that is quite mobile and capable of making plays effectively. Therefore, T1’s choice to pick Yone is not too surprising.
Currently, T1 has completed their objective in the LCK Summer 2024 group stage. The upcoming playoffs will be incredibly tough, but T1 fans can rest easy for now as T1 has only lost in the playoffs of a domestic tournament to Gen.G in the finals in recent seasons.