How Does the MSI 2024 Format Affect T1 and Gen.G?
Since MSI 2023, Riot has made notable changes to enhance the competitiveness of the annual mid-year tournament in the League of Legends scene. The most significant changes include two major adjustments: the MSI 2024 champion will secure a direct spot in the group stage of Worlds 2024 if they reach the Summer Playoffs. The other point is that the top two performing regions will have four slots for their region at Worlds 2024. With T1, Bilibili Gaming, and Gen.G among the top three teams at MSI 2024, LCK and LPL will both have four representatives in the Worlds 2024 group stage.
However, this leads to a consequence in the Summer 2024 tournament, where T1 performed poorly and had to compete in the regional qualifiers. In fact, T1 only secured their spot at Worlds 2024 after defeating KT Rolster in the final game of the regional qualifiers, thus entering the upcoming Worlds as the fourth seed. Specifically, some League of Legends fans have noted that T1 reached Worlds 2024 “thanks to the slot Gen.G secured for LCK.”
Riot’s Announcement Misleads the League of Legends Community About T1’s Role
After Gen.G defeated BLG in the winner’s final and secured the first spot in the grand finals, Riot posted an announcement in English stating: “With Gen.G’s qualification for the MSI 2024 Finals, the LCK has secured a 4th slot at Worlds 2024.” At this time, many fans are using this statement to assert that it was indeed Gen.G that allowed T1 to reach Worlds 2024.
However, League of Legends fans may have overlooked an important fact: Riot’s rules clearly state that as long as two regions are among the top performers at MSI 2024, those two regions will have four slots at Worlds 2024, regardless of whether the grand finals feature an “internal battle” or a clash between two different regions. And the context of that match, in the winner’s final, was Gen.G vs. BLG, while in the loser’s bracket, it was T1 vs. G2 Esports. At that time, there were still four teams representing three regions (LEC, LCK, LPL).
Gen.G’s entry into the grand finals ensured that LCK would be one of the top two performing regions, because whether BLG made it to the finals or G2 defeated T1, there would still be one LCK representative in the final match. Nevertheless, there is one truth that many fans have either forgotten or intentionally ignored: T1 also had the potential to ensure that LCK would be one of the top two performing regions, regardless of the outcome of the Gen.G vs. BLG match.
T1 Could Also Independently Secure 4 Slots at Worlds 2024 for LCK
To clarify this issue, fans need to look back at Round 2 of the MSI 2024 playoffs. At that time, even though T1 was dropped to the loser’s bracket by BLG, before Round 2 concluded, T1 eliminated the remaining representative from LCS (Team Liquid) and ensured that the competition for the “top two performing regions” was only between LPL, LEC, and LCK. The situation was even more favorable for LCK teams when on May 14, G2 eliminated TES.
Thus, initially, it was T1 that narrowed down the playing field to a competition among LEC, LCK, and LPL. G2 helped LCK by removing a strong representative from LPL, putting BLG in a “one against the world” situation while LCK had two representatives.
Afterward, T1 decisively eliminated G2 in a dominant 3-0 match to advance to the loser’s final. At that point, many fans and even analysts and streamers noted that T1 “helped” LPL secure four slots at Worlds 2024. This is true, as it was indeed T1’s victory that made LPL and LCK the two top-performing regions at MSI 2024.
However, as mentioned above: regardless of the outcome of the match between Gen.G and BLG, T1 still had the full authority to determine how many slots LCK would have at Worlds when they still had a match against G2. The assertion that “T1 reached Worlds 2024 thanks to Gen.G” is only accurate if T1 lost to G2. In all other scenarios, claims that “T1 reached Worlds 2024 thanks to Gen.G” are meaningless.
Suppose Gen.G lost to BLG, meaning that Riot’s announcement would replace “Gen.G” with “BLG” and “LCK” with “LPL.” But LCK would still have nothing to worry about, as the T1 vs. G2 match had not yet occurred. In that case, T1’s role in determining LCK’s four slots at Worlds 2024 would be clearer, rather than being overshadowed by Gen.G’s earlier entry into the grand finals.
T1 has fully determined their own fate, at MSI 2024, as well as in the recent matches from the group stage to the playoffs and even the regional qualifiers. Gen.G completed their task at MSI 2024. But for T1, they may be weak, but it would be a serious underestimation of the efforts of Faker and his teammates to say that this team reached Worlds 2024 “thanks to” another team.