HLE’s victory reminds many fans of T1
After a thrilling victory against T1, Hanwha Life Esports continued with Gen.G to deliver an exciting BO5 match that also ended with a score of 3-2, with the win leaning towards Zeus and his new teammates. Notably, the playstyle that HLE and Gen.G employed in the match unintentionally led many viewers to draw comparisons to T1 in the past.
Accordingly, both teams had matches utilizing Marksmen playing weak side and funneling resources to other lanes (Mid Lane, Top Lane). HLE was the team that applied this playstyle the most during the match, as they featured Zeus – the top lane player known for his exceptional “team-carrying” style.
This playstyle is actually the familiar approach that helped T1 secure titles in previous years, with both Zeus and Gumayusi being key factors as HLE’s rookie excels at playing top lane carry champions while Gumayusi is almost perfect as a weak side Marksman. In fact, the champion picks in game 3 (HLE’s winning game) consisted entirely of champions that were strong picks for previous T1 members (Jax, Azir, Jhin, and Pyke).
This could be a deciding factor for T1’s personnel in the upcoming Regular Seasons
In reality, the playstyle of funneling resources to Marksmen is becoming increasingly ineffective. Aside from a few teams that have the best Marksmen in the world right now (T1, HLE, Gen.G, BLG…), it is difficult for other teams to effectively implement this strategy. And T1, when deciding to experiment with changes, also did not see favorable results.
A Marksman can carry the team when maximally funneled resources, which is not surprising and is essentially the role of this Marksman. But even when playing weak side and serving the overall playstyle, this player still contributes maximally and helps the team secure victory; that is the most important thing. In recent years, perhaps only Gumayusi from T1 has truly elevated this playstyle to the highest level.