In the match against Bilibili Gaming (BLG) in the lower bracket of MSI 2023, Gen.G unexpectedly suffered a defeat. Not only were they eliminated from the tournament in London, but the reigning LCK Spring 2023 champions also failed to secure a single game win against the second seed from the LPL. Furthermore, players like Chovy, Doran, and Peanut had a day to forget.
However, after the match concluded, it was T1 that became the most talked-about name, not Gen.G. First, after the match between BLG and Gen.G, T1 became the last representative of LCK at MSI 2023. After several years with the MSI championship belonging to LPL, T1 now bears the responsibility of bringing this title back to the LCK.
This is no easy task, especially after witnessing the performance of BLG players against Gen.G recently. However, T1 must still give their all. Moreover, if they can win MSI 2023, T1 will take a significant step towards being selected for the official roster representing League of Legends (LoL) from South Korea at the ASIAD tournament later this year.
On the other hand, many viewers joked that Gen.G’s defeat might be due to the team… practicing with T1. Specifically, throughout the matches, Gen.G focused on banning the champion Nautilus while allowing their opponents to pick more proactive and comfortable champions. Additionally, Gen.G also “followed in T1’s footsteps” by using Kindred extremely ineffectively. For those who may not know, Nautilus and Kindred were champions featured in T1’s losses against JD Gaming.
According to many opinions, it was precisely because Chovy had to play Annie (a playmaking champion) rather than another champion with the ability to “carry the team” that diminished his strength. Additionally, Kindred in Peanut’s hands was ineffective, coupled with Peyz and Doran having a performance far below their opponents, which left Chovy feeling helpless.
Nevertheless, based on what they displayed against JDG, T1 has every reason to believe in a good result against BLG. However, Faker and his teammates must absolutely avoid making mistakes like those seen in the matches against JDG or Gen.G if they still hope to bring the championship back to the LCK region.