Entering the match against Gen.G in the second round of the Swiss stage of the World Championship (Worlds) 2023, T1 was seen as the “underdog”. However, since the format was BO1, many T1 fans still held hope that their team could secure a victory. This belief was further supported as T1 gained a significant advantage when Faker achieved First Blood and the other lanes performed steadily. However, Gen.G gradually regained control as Chovy and Peanut reached the necessary levels. In the end, Gen.G continued their winning streak against their fierce rivals T1.
The match showed that Gen.G performed well, but T1 players also made several mistakes. In his co-stream, SofM remarked that T1 had a draft that was too greedy, as they were already in a winning position yet still picked Aatrox, making their composition too fragile. Additionally, Oner was continuously criticized by SofM as T1’s jungler was completely outplayed by the veteran Peanut.
Furthermore, after the match, Riot revealed a statistic concerning the T1 players. Specifically, in a lane situation, Faker had the highest gold difference while laning, and among the T1 team, only Faker had the best economy. In fact, the gold Faker accumulated was even greater than the total of the Gen.G team in that situation combined.
Additionally, when comparing metrics such as damage/minute, percentage of damage dealt, etc., Faker was also significantly superior to his lane opponent from Gen.G, Chovy. Notably, Faker was using Orianna – a champion that primarily facilitates gameplay and executes combos with Jarvan IV, which becomes less impactful as the game progresses. In contrast, Chovy used Akali – one of the most agile assassins in League of Legends.
Witnessing Faker shine, LoL fans couldn’t help but feel regretful, as if all four other T1 players had performed well, this team would have had a chance for revenge. In fact, there was a “half-joking, half-serious” comment that stated: “So T1 only wins when Faker plays a supporting role?”.
T1’s defeat is a collective failure of the entire team. However, at this moment, the T1 players are making their fans anxious as they have yet to display their best form at this year’s Worlds.