For a team like T1, which always aims for championship titles in every tournament, finishing second in 4 out of their last 5 finals is undoubtedly unacceptable. Even the T1 players themselves can no longer regard these losses as accidents, especially after they have “fallen at heaven’s gate” four times. Not to mention, two of those instances were in domestic tournaments – where T1 is always viewed as a dominant force along with the rest.
These failures have also altered the community’s perception of T1 at the MSI 2023, compared to previous tournaments. Specifically, in a recent survey, T1 has dropped to third place among championship contenders for MSI 2023, with only 25% of the audience believing T1 will win the championship. This indicates that T1 has gradually lost the community’s trust in League of Legends after multiple finals defeats.
This is entirely understandable. Moreover, the MSI arena is often considered a “dangerous ground” for T1 in particular and LCK teams in general. From 2015 to before MSI 2023, the tournament has gone through 7 seasons with LPL teams winning 4 times. SKT T1 is the only LCK team to have won this tournament twice, while the other win belongs to G2 Esports. However, the last time Faker and his teammates won MSI was six years ago. That was also the last time an LCK team claimed the MSI title.
The two teams ranked above T1 are JD Gaming (ranked 1) and Gen.G (ranked 2). The selection rates for these two teams are almost equal, but JDG is slightly favored over the LCK Spring 2023 champions. The reason, according to the audience, is that JDG has a more stable roster and has been strong throughout the season. Meanwhile, Gen.G has frequently lost to T1 and struggled against Dplus KIA and Hanwha Life Esports. Gen.G’s victory over T1 in the finals only serves to elevate their status above T1.
Of course, in a tournament with a short duration featuring all champions like MSI, all evaluations are merely reference points. The teams themselves must exert their utmost effort, as just one mistake could turn their journey in the tournament into a disaster.