In the match on January 24 (Vietnam time) as part of the LCK SPRING 2024, KT Rolster faced off against Kwangdong Freecs. With a strong performance after winning the first two matches, including a victory over Dplus KIA, KT was clearly favored. In stark contrast, KDF was on the opposite end with two consecutive losses. They are a young team that finished at the bottom of the standings in Summer 2023. However, KT lost despite having a 1-0 lead after the first game.
KT’s defeat was somewhat surprising, but upon reviewing the course of each game, it wasn’t too hard to understand. KDF had an outstanding day, particularly from Bull – the AD Carry who made his LCK debut replacing Taeyoon, and he performed exceptionally well. He even secured 2 MVPs in the 2 games that KDF made a comeback. Despite some understandable missteps typical of a young AD Carry, Bull truly showcased that he is one of the most promising names in the LCK right now.
However, T1 was the name mentioned frequently after this match. The reason is that both teams have close ties to T1 throughout the LCK Summer 2023 season. Specifically, after choosing T1 for the first playoff series, KT’s performance and results plummeted drastically. There were occasional wins, but they were far too few compared to their losses. As for KDF, they have been regular practice partners with T1 since the 2023 Worlds. Even though Bull was not yet promoted to the first team and Cuzz had not joined, 3 out of 5 remaining members were trained by higher-level veterans.
– Thank you, T1
– KDF looks really strong to win. Can they meet expectations?
– The “scrim benefits with T1.” The game is easy
Of course, KDF’s victory was based on the performance of the players from both teams, and T1 was merely a practice partner for KDF during the 2023 Worlds. However, the experience gained from interacting and learning from higher-level players is invaluable for the young KDF stars. Not to mention, they also have an experienced member like Cuzz as a leader. And perhaps the audience has also realized: Cuzz is also a former T1 player, who helped this team defeat Gen.G to clinch the title in LCK Summer 2020.