On the afternoon of July 27 (Vietnam time), T1 faced off against DRX, one of the weakest opponents in the LCK Summer 2023, and the team that T1 could almost certainly defeat to secure a spot in the playoffs early. Moreover, before this rematch against T1, DRX had only won 3 matches, one of which was against… T1. However, many fans, especially T1 supporters, still believed that their team would emerge victorious.
In reality, T1 performed very well in game 1, from team fights to decision-making. The audience even marveled at T1’s 4 vs 5 situation at Baron, allowing Zeus to backdoor alone. However, their focus and excitement could not be maintained in the following two games. Ultimately, T1 faced another defeat. This marked T1’s fourth consecutive loss and their second defeat to DRX in the group stage. Thus, in the LCK Summer 2023, even though DRX is near the bottom of the standings, they have defeated T1 in both matches.
Notably, after the match, Coach Tom brought some very bad news regarding Faker’s injury status. According to him, Faker has not yet fully recovered. Coach Tom stated: “When playing ranked, Faker’s hand is still quite painful. He has not fully healed. When playing, he even has to buy items with his non-dominant hand (left hand).” Thus, if Coach Tom’s words are not a psychological tactic, Faker will almost certainly miss the match against KT Rolster.
This is clearly bad news. With Faker’s presence, T1 might not be able to win against the current KT. However, with Faker absent and KT in excellent form, a defeat is a glaring possibility. This will force T1 to win against Kwangdong Freecs, who are ranked 7th and preparing to face Dplus KIA. If DK can defeat KDF, this team will almost certainly no longer be able to compete with T1 for the standings.
With a series of teams vying for the last two playoff spots in the LCK Summer 2023 all set to face each other in week 8, this could be a decisive week of competition. With a record of 7 wins to 8 losses, T1 is still almost certain to advance. However, T1 has not shown that they are stable without Faker. And this has caused immense concern among fans, even if T1 does advance far in the playoffs or participate in the 2023 World Championship.