T1’s Loss Sparks Controversy Over LCK Cup 2025
Recently, T1 suffered a defeat against Hanwha Life Esports in a “do or die” match for both teams at LCK Cup 2025. This second loss for T1 in the tournament, which kicked off the 2025 LCK season, also marked the end of their journey here, despite T1 being the team with the best record in the Baron table.
Notably, this is the first time in about five years that T1 has had such a poor performance in the playoffs of an official LCK tournament. This has sparked controversy over the somewhat unreasonable format of LCK Cup 2025.
Accordingly, the team at the bottom of the Dragon table, Nongshim RedForce, had three opportunities to keep their hopes alive in LCK Cup 2025. First, they only had to face KT Rolster – a team known for their inconsistency and also their toughest opponent in the playoffs of LCK Cup 2025, prior to the Gen.G – HLE match.
Even if they lost to Dplus KIA, NS continued to compete in LCK Cup 2025. Meanwhile, T1 and HLE, the two best teams in the Baron table, had to eliminate each other when the playoffs of LCK Cup 2025 were still in Round 1. Only after winning in this Round do teams get additional opportunities.
This is actually quite… unreasonable. Because NS almost lost to all the teams in the Baron table, yet their ranking is higher than T1 – a team that only lost one match in the group stage. Fans have the right to feel frustrated for T1 as the opponents this team faced were not easy at all (DK, Gen.G, KT).
LCK Organizers May Need to Review the Tournament Format After T1’s Incident
The LCK Cup 2025 was initially only intended to test Fearless Draft and to find a representative of the LCK to participate in Riot’s new tournament. However, with the excitement this tournament brings, the LCK organizers may need to consider more reasonable formats, to avoid the efforts of teams being affected by external factors.
Because if the other teams in the Baron table had performed better, this table could have had a different outcome. T1’s efforts alone were not enough and clearly, they were eliminated in a somewhat “frustrating” manner while teams with poorer records continued to have opportunities to advance.