Oner Admits T1 Was ‘Read’
Although T1 secured a 2-0 victory against the bottom-ranked team DN Freecs, it was clear from the match that T1 struggled significantly for 2/3 of game 2. They were unable to breach the solid defense of their opponents, and without the superstar moments from the duo of Gumayusi – Keria, no one knows how the outcome would have turned out. Oner himself admitted after the match that the entire team was read right from the draft phase.
Specifically, T1’s jungler stated: “DNF is at the bottom of the standings, but I think when they play at 200% capacity, they can beat any team. We prepared very carefully for the Viktor pick, like the Nocturne – Orianna combo. But when the opponent used Sion and Trundle, we really felt we had been read, countered. Picking Nidalee was situational because we wanted to force the opponents into a 4v4. We underestimated them and faced many difficulties.”
The match also showed that if T1 hadn’t executed a perfect team fight at the Dragon pit, this team might have lost game 2 as DNF’s defense grew stronger while Doran’s Nidalee reached her limits. Moreover, T1 opted for a dive-heavy composition without anyone sturdy enough to act as a frontline. Without skilled play and good positioning, no team would dare to draft as boldly as T1 did in the last match and still come out victorious.
T1 Still Has a Slim Chance for Top 2
The reality is that T1’s chance for a top 2 finish is very slim, even if HLE loses all their remaining matches. As long as HLE secures even one win, even if they lose afterward, their win total will still be higher than T1’s. Therefore, T1 can only reach the top 2 if they meet two conditions: they win all remaining matches 2-0 and HLE loses all their remaining matches 0-2. One of those matches is the clash between T1 and HLE.
However, HLE is not DN Freecs, and if T1 continues to be overconfident with suboptimal bans, the 2024 World Champion could face difficulties, especially since T1 previously suffered a heavy defeat against HLE in the first round.