Thus, after the first two matches in the LCK SPRING 2024, T1 has one win and one loss. In reality, the loss to Gen.G was quite unfortunate as T1 held a significant advantage during the second game but could not finish the match as Gen.G defended well before counterattacking. Of course, the initial matches of the season do not reveal much. T1 is likely also gradually getting back into the rhythm of professional matches and the new meta.
However, T1 will always seize every opportunity to experiment with strategies for a long journey. Recently, T1 became one of the pioneering teams in the LCK to utilize the World Map meta with a Bottom Lane strategy focusing on two Support items. In this case, Gumayusi will build Bloodthirster – an item that provides health, recovery (health and energy), and an income of 5 gold every 10 seconds. Additionally, this item will deal bonus physical damage equal to 150% of the base attack power and apply the Weak Point effect, forcing opponents to take extra damage for 6 seconds.
This strategy has the advantage that both Support and Marksman will gather a large amount of resources during the laning phase. However, since this is still a Support item – which is not typically seen on Marksmen, it will inevitably make the AD carry a bit weaker compared to the usual itemization rhythm. Evidence clearly showed that Gumayusi had no kills at all in the first game against Gen.G. And as the game progressed, his damage decreased significantly.
However, according to Keria’s comments after the victory against Kwangdong Freecs, using the World Map meta is simply T1 wanting to… “test strategies” and Gen.G was the “test dummy”. Specifically, Keria stated: “Before the first match (against Gen.G), Coach Tom suggested we experiment with the World Map meta because it’s being played this way in the super server of LPL. We had ranked games but never used it in practice, and the match against Gen.G was our first time using this meta against a professional team.”
Clearly, T1 continues to repeat an “old habit” of experimenting with new ideas even in high-stakes matches. And even if they fail, T1 can still identify the strengths and weaknesses in their gameplay. A prime example is that after the loss to Gen.G at the 2023 World Championship, they went undefeated and smoothly claimed the championship. It is very likely that this LCK SPRING 2024 will also be a similar journey for Faker and his teammates as they have begun to find their groove.