T1 entered the showdown against DAMWON Gaming with high spirits after three consecutive victories, however, their opponent was no easy feat as they were in great form. Once again, since the second half of the LCK Spring Split and the MSC, Nuguri and his teammates brought despair to the reigning champions of the Korean League of Legends with a 2-0 victory.
The first half of game 1 witnessed a complete domination by Faker and his teammates, and observing the events before the 30-minute mark, many viewers must have envisioned an easy victory for T1.
However, DAMWON proved otherwise, as this team continuously organized decisive and effective pick-offs, leaving T1 in a position of numerical disadvantage during the late game, gradually regaining the advantage, ultimately staging a successful comeback to take the lead in game 1.
Moving into game 2, T1 bewildered fans by choosing an extremely passive lineup, with only one position capable of initiating fights, which was Canna’s Kennen, but this champion was easily dealt with by DWG, forcing Faker and his teammates into a defensive stance throughout the match.
By the 38th minute, T1 unexpectedly secured a victorious fight in the Mid Lane and decided to take Baron. The audience began to think of a classic “turnaround” scenario for this team, but the members of T1 had a Baron attempt that went horribly wrong when they had 4 players but were spun around by 2 members of DWG, failing to share the Baron damage, forcing Ellim to Smite early to preserve health.
Subsequently, Showmaker effortlessly used Syndra to steal Baron right under Teddy and his teammates’ noses, protected by the beast Sylas in Nuguri’s hands. All hope seemed lost for T1, even when they obtained the Wind Soul. DAMWON simply had to create a pincer maneuver and slowly dismantle their opponent’s structures, while the opposing lineup struggled to initiate fights.
This loss marked T1’s third consecutive defeat to DAMWON in a direct confrontation. Additionally, Ellim’s position is under significant scrutiny, although to be fair, this was a match where the entire T1 team performed poorly.