With less than 24 hours to go, T1 will enter a crucial match against Hanwha Life Esports in the lower bracket final of the LCK Spring 2024 playoffs. This match is extremely important for both teams, determining the fate of T1 and HLE this Spring. The team that advances will not only secure a spot at MSI 2024 but also have a chance to contend for the championship against Gen.G, the reigning LCK champion. However, as the current king of Worlds 2023, T1 is under more pressure, especially after their recent matchup where T1 was swept 0-3 by HLE.
In a recent statement, Faker brought good news to T1 fans. Specifically, according to Faker, T1 has been able to resume normal practice after the recent DDoS attacks. Of course, no one can be sure that T1 will win, but at least the players are prepared evenly against all opponents. However, T1 actually possesses an important winning formula that the entire team should capitalize on.
Specifically, this lies in the bot lane where they have one of the most comprehensive bot duos in League of Legends today. In the past as well as currently, Gumayusi and Keria have truly proven how outstanding they are as bot lane players. Gumayusi can completely “carry the team” if given resources or shine even when the team is struggling – something Peyz has yet to demonstrate significantly. Meanwhile, Keria is renowned for being a Support with a diverse champion pool and an unpredictable playstyle.
However, for a long time, T1 seems to have “forgotten” that they need to allocate resources to the bot lane accordingly, especially when the bot lane is the meta currently. Not to mention, players like Viper or Peyz can completely cover for any disadvantages that Kiin or Doran might leave behind if T1 focuses their efforts on Zeus in the early game. Meanwhile, an ADC lacking sufficient damage will struggle to contribute significantly in team fights, especially when facing top-tier ADCs like Peyz or Viper.
Furthermore, Gumayusi himself is quite easily exploited, which also restricts Keria’s activity. In T1’s losses, both Gen.G and HLE have followed a formula: ensuring the top lane does not fall behind too much + thoroughly “camping” the bot lane and funneling resources and kills to Viper/Peyz early. After that, the mid lane utilizes its skill advantage and favorable lanes to apply pressure on Faker. It can be seen that T1 does not win decisively in the top lane, and with the bot lane heavily behind, Faker, Keria, and Oner cannot execute their usual plays or macro strategies.
Changes from the meta and past results suggest that T1 may have a clear understanding of their issues. However, whether the king of Worlds can effectively implement the winning formula remains to be seen in their upcoming match against HLE. This is also a “do or die” match for both teams this Spring, and no one wants to see T1 watching MSI 2024 from home, especially after they just dominated the global League of Legends scene.