A Clear Issue for T1 Revealed in Matches Against HLE and Gen.G
In their loss to T1 during the winners bracket of Road to MSI 2026, HLE ran Ziggs for Gumayusi and were prepared to face T1’s powerful Ezreal – Karma combo. However, the outcome changed dramatically when T1’s lane-winning combo was completely neutralized. Yet, when T1 tried to run almost the same combo themselves, it did not function as their usual style, and they lost that game.
Using the same champion and with both teams of relatively equal skill, their opponents were also evenly matched. The way HLE and T1 played exposed one truth: T1 cannot effectively operate Ziggs.
When HLE used Ziggs, Gumayusi still played as a weaker side laner as usual. However, T1 opted for maximum roaming and ganking champions (Pyke, Camille). Additionally, the top lane confidently picked high damage champions capable of rotating in multiple directions, such as the Jayce – Trundle – Ryze trio in the match against HLE. This composition allows for diverse playstyles and can operate well as long as lanes are at least even.
Moving to the T1 vs Gen.G match, T1 again used Ziggs but got countered when Trundle was banned. Additionally, Keria performed poorly on Shen, and Doran disappeared entirely on Vayne. This further highlighted that T1’s players are completely at a loss with Ziggs. They have high-quality players, but not for operating this Yordle champion.
T1 Needs to Improve How They Operate Different Champions
In fact, this season T1 has often struggled early and mid-game, but thanks to superstar moments, they secured overall wins — the Gen.G match was a prime example. Such moments are necessary for a team to win.
However, clearly T1 cannot rely solely on their superstars; each player must improve their performance and champion operation. Strong teams won’t allow T1’s superstar moments to happen, and they can completely shut down T1’s strategies during the draft phase.