As we know, T1 recently became the world champion after defeating Weibo Gaming (WBG) in the finals of the 2023 World Championship. T1’s 3-0 victory over WBG showcased the complete dominance of Faker and his teammates in this crucial match. Furthermore, T1 proved to be superior to the entire LPL at the 2023 World Championship as they defeated all four seeds from this region.
Therefore, this victory has thrilled T1 fans in particular and the LCK region in general. On the contrary, fans and experts from the LPL region seem to be extremely pessimistic. Essentially, they do not place too much hope in an unstable team like WBG being able to win the championship. What worries experts in the LPL is that this region has yet to show any new faces capable of competing with T1.
“It’s sad, but I must say that the LPL is entering a period full of ‘bleakness’. Just look at T1, there are four players on this team who are very young. Even Faker, with his recent performance, can still play at a high level for several more years. Meanwhile, the LPL has yet to showcase any new faces promising enough to compete with them,” said Ning (2018 World Champion) after the match between T1 and WBG.
Indeed, looking at T1’s current roster, names like Zeus, Oner, Gumayusi, and Keria are still very young. Zeus is just 19 years old, while the other three members are also around 21. Even in the case of Faker (27 years old), the “Demon King” has maintained an incredibly stable performance in recent years. If T1 continues to stick with this roster, they could very well harvest more titles in the coming years.
Meanwhile, the LPL region seems overly reliant on Korean stars for success in recent years. Even in the 2023 season, JDG’s three championships owed a lot to Kanavi and Ruler. On the other hand, the highly anticipated star named Knight completely collapsed at the 2023 World Championship, leading to JDG’s elimination. With the biggest star of the ‘new generation’ failing, it’s understandable why Ning feels pessimistic about the future of the LPL region.
To achieve the championship at the 2023 World Championship, T1 has persevered with the current roster for a long time, enduring many failures in previous years. This is T1’s sustainable way of building a team that LPL teams should learn from. Otherwise, failures like JDG’s are likely to repeat in the future.