Thus, the prospect of 4 LPL teams reaching the semifinals of the 2023 World Championship (Worlds) has not come to fruition as T1 defeated LNG Esports (LNG). In fact, Faker and his teammates eliminated LNG in a rather “brutal” manner, convincingly beating this team 3-0. T1’s next opponent will be the formidable JD Gaming (JDG), who are on their way to conquer the “Grand Slam of titles.”
This victory is extremely important for T1 as well as the LCK region. It has helped LCK fans maintain hope that the 2023 Worlds title could stay with this region. Indeed, after the failures of Gen.G and KT, T1 has emerged as a hero for LCK fans with their meaningful victory.
As for LNG, this heavy defeat is very difficult to accept for LPL fans. Many spectators from this region have even called for LPL teams to “rescue” player GALA right after the match with T1 ended. This is reflected in the fact that the keyword “Rescue GALA” quickly climbed to the number one trending position in the LPL region.
Right after the match between T1 and LNG ended, fans couldn’t help but feel heartbroken seeing GALA in tears backstage. This outstanding AD carry truly tried his best to carry the LNG team in the last match but was unsuccessful. On a day when Tarzan and Scout both underperformed, GALA’s efforts also became futile.
Unfortunately, this is not the first Worlds where GALA has faced defeat due to underperforming teammates. At the 2021 and 2022 Worlds, GALA, who was then the MSI champion, still could not reach the semifinals. He was seen as a rare bright spot for Royal Never Give Up (RNG) in these tournaments when Wei, Cryin, and even Xiaohu all played poorly. Perhaps this is why LPL fans are calling for “Rescue GALA” as mentioned above.
Indeed, with LNG’s performance in the last match, it is not surprising if GALA leaves this team. If that happens, this player will definitely become a sought-after name after the 2023 Worlds. Hopefully, GALA will make the right decisions in the future to strive for success or at least avoid unfortunate failures like this year’s Worlds.